I can’t believe this week is over!!! I have just been reading through my previous posts and I can’t believe I felt so alone earlier in the week. Today I have been fighting back the tears as I have to leave these 7 amazing women and continue on my path. I am going to really miss them all! We have been through one hell of a week together.

On the way to the airport, Martine and I were all shell-shocked and she hit the nail on the head when she said, “I feel like I’ve been through some kind of trauma!” It will be so good to get home and decompress a little before embarking on our post-training and more studying.

The test went well. By some miracle I managed to get 100%. We all passed and it was such a relief. Jen was such an amazing instructor. We were very blessed to have her with us.

Sitting here at Houston Airport waiting for my connecting flight to Orlando. Can’t wait to see Bill. I will pick Gwennie use from school tomorrow (she is still at my MIL’s). I can’t wait to get my hands on her! I hope she will be pleased to see me too!

Today has been a major improvement on yesterday! Whilst tired, I have been able to get through this day with a smile on my face and positivity in my heart. Thank you all for spurring me on. Whilst I would like to say it is because I got a good sleep, I can’t, but I think it is more because of the good support I received from family, friends, and boss… and possibly the fact that I indulged in the most amazing burger and fries last night! I was so worth it, let me tell you! Have been eating a bit like a rabbit since I got here and I think I just needed some good old MEAT to make me feel better! Hahaha!

It’s been a long day. Four of us went in to do the 8:15am class and then we practiced our set-ups (for teaching all the different exercises throughout class) for an hour before beginning training. I got to teach standing-seat today. “What’s that?!” I hear you cry! Well it’s one of the many amazing seat exercises that make your bum look absolutely fabulous in jeans! It went pretty well and I got some good positive feedback and helpful constructive criticism. It was one of the other girls’ turn to have a meltdown today. Bless her… she was just being hard on herself. I totally understood her frustration. Secretly it helped me to know that someone else was feeling the pressure. I think everyone has felt tired and overloaded with information, but I think each of us is reaching that “Oh shit!” moment at different stages.

We’ve pretty much worked our way though the manual…. we just have to implement everything physically now. It’s amazing how much we have covered in just 3 days. My brain is on fire. I feel like I am going to be dreaming about this stuff soon. As it is, it is the first thing I think about whenever I wake up (during the night…. several times!!!).

I managed to read some and study tonight. Tomorrow I have to teach warm-up. We are all teaching sections of the class. Then we are working on hands-on adjustments. All good fun! I like that part particularly, as I have done a lot of adjustments during my time as a yoga instructor. I’m not afraid to grab and body and tweak it!

I’m currently waiting on the hotel’s laundry service. I’m getting though workout clothes and Bar Method socks like there is no tomorrow! Had to do a little wash to tide me over! Nine hours a day of being a working, sweaty body will do that! I hope they come soon coz I’m ready for bed!

We plan to be at the studio for 8:15am again tomorrow. Practice first and then class afterwards.

WOW. I have a feeling I am not going to be able to post much on here from now on until I get home! It is FULL-ON!!!

It went great today. Just a very long day. I had a rough night sleep wise. Awake every hour from 1am onwards…. my room and bed are great but my mind was doing overtime! Got to the studio at 9am only to be told that our trainer didn’t want us doing a class as she was going to teach us one and wanted us to be fresh. I ended up going to Starbucks for a bit to kill time.

Jen, our trainer, is really great. She is funny and knowledgeable and seems very fair. She taught us a class, and then we all had to get up and teach sections of class. Nerve-wracking, but I was grateful to my boss, Karen, for giving me a heads-up so it wasn’t a complete shock! Then we got our manuals (bibles!!!)…. they are very thick and have all the rules, set-ups, and so on written inside. We have to learn, read, eat, and breathe this thing! I have 20 pages to read tonight.

We have a test on Saturday, pertaining to the first section of the book. We will take our anatomy and physiology tests at our local studios in 2 weeks time.

There are seven of us girls training…. 3 from the Austin studio, 1 from Denver, 1 from New Orleans, and 1 from LA, who is also British. Three of us are in the same hotel. I think we will probably start getting together in the evenings to study and test each other. I walked home with Martine (the Brit) tonight. I got a cab to the studio this morning. Rachael, the girl from New Orleans, is staying in a different hotel but has hired a car. She is going to pick us up in the morning. We are very grateful! She stayed after training tonight to observe a class. Katie, the Denver lass, went shopping! Bless her! These youngsters have more stamina than me!

I am the oldest of the bunch!!! I would think Martine is probably in her 30s but the others are mid-twenties.

Everyone seems nice. Obviously the Austin girls are pretty tight as they all know each other but they have all been very welcoming.

And now I must away to my new “Bible”. It awaits me with a glaring stare. And then I must try and get a better night’s sleep! Us 4 out-of-towners are taking a class before training in the morning.

Pass me the ibuprofen!!!!

I had a good flight into Austin. All went smoothly. I was pretty tickled at the huge guitars they had in the baggage claim of the airport. I took a pic of my favourite one (see previous post) and also found one later in front of my hotel… which I liked even more! It was called Twinkle Twinkle Lonestar. I feel a bit like a little twinkling lone star in this big ole city!

I threw all my stuff in my room and decided to get going and take a walk to find the Bar Method studio. It was easy to find thanks to my handy iPhone gps! It was a good 30 minute walk. My phone took me the direct route and I passed by what seemed to be a campsite of sorts for homeless people. I took a different route on the way back! No offence to homeless people, but there were a lot more of them than there was of me! It was a bit intimidating.

Austin seems interesting. As with any city, there are lovely bits and downright grotty bits! The restaurants and bars I passed looked pretty cool… and there are a wide variety of different eclectic types walking around!

Tonight I plan to keep it simple and go to the TGI Friday’s in the hotel. They also have a Starbucks here… oh choirs of angels sing!!!! Then I will come back to my room, practice my set-ups for tomorrow, have a nice bath, and snuggle up with A bit of TV and bed!

I plan to take the 9:30am class tomorrow before we start our training. I called and reserved myself a spot.

I’m looking forward to meeting our trainers and the other trainees tomorrow. I’m pretty nervous too, but hopefully I will soon get into the swing of things!

Have just spoken to Bill and sent a video message to Gwennie. I loathed leaving her this morning. She woke up with a cough. Typical! She seems bright enough in herself. I just hope it doesn’t t develop into anything worse. I hate to put upon my MIL like that… although I know she doesn’t mind and is more than capable of looking after her. But I’m her Mum and I worry. It’s what we mothers do, right?

Ok, I’m off to unpack my case and get settled!

I’ve had a blog about being a Brit in America. I’ve had a blog about losing a baby. I’ve also had a blog about being a Mum. And then I lost my inspiration to write. Not that I am uninspired about my life and certainly not about being a Mum, but I just found it hard to find time to sit down and compose a post at the end of a long day!

I became a little wrapped up in Facebook and found that most of my Internet time was spent reading people’s posts there and commenting on them. I find it a good tool to keep in touch with my family and friends from back home, and also to keep up-to-date in my various interests, be it fitness, entertainment, or current affairs.

But I have missed writing a blog. I don’t need to tell you that writing is good therapy for most people. Well, that and a large glass of Pinot Noir!

So now I am excited as I am entering a new phase in my life.

I am going back to work.

After almost 5 years of being super lucky and getting to stay at home with my soon-to-be 5 year old daughter, something wonderful has fallen into my lap. And I am really excited about it!

Let me back up a little.

I was born in the seaside town of Poole in Dorset on England’s beautiful south coast. I grew up an only child, fortunate enough to go to private school and then on to Parkstone Grammar School for Girls. I started ballet at the age of 2 and dancing became my entire life. I was always in some form of dance class or another and performed in numerous shows and competitions. I left school at 16 to attend the Arts Educational School in London as a Musical Theatre student. At 18 I landed my first job with an all-girls dance troupe… touring the Far East. I continued on this trend for 11 years, being lucky enough to visit and work in such countries as Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Ibiza, Switzerland, and Austria. I had a little break somewhere in the middle, where I came home for a year and taught contemporary and jazz dance to children at my old local ballet school.

In August 2001, after a particularly bad break up with a then boyfriend, I came over to the States to visit my father, who had moved Stateside a few years prior. I fell in love with Florida and its gorgeous weather and enjoyed the feeling of pastures new. I decided to go back to school and obtained a student visa. I ended up going into the Nursing Program at the local community college and graduated with an Associates in Nursing Magna Cum Laude.

During this time, I met and fell in love with my husband, Bill, a fourth generation Orlandian. We were married in 2005.

I worked for a couple of years at a local Women’s and Children’s Hospital as an RN on the Postpartum Ward. When our daughter Gwennie was born in May of 2007, both Bill and I agreed that I would be a stay-at-home Mum for a while and so I hung up my scrubs.

I know how fortunate and blessed I am that I was able to do this. Being a Mum has completely changed my life. For the better. I feel grateful and blessed that I was able to see and partake in every little phase of G’s life as she quickly and persistently evolved and changed.

And now here we are… she will soon be 5 and starts Kindergarten in August.

I have tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat as I write. My little baby girl is growing up. Where is that damned pause button?

It has been in the back of my head about what to do once G is in school. I certainly struggled with being fully dependent on my amazingly supportive husband and felt that I wanted to able to contribute in some way. I was hesitant to think about going back to nursing…. particularly on a hospital floor. I didn’t want to be working long 12 hour shifts (which usually mean 13-15 hours) which meant I would need to find someone to pick G up from school and so on.

I had no idea something great was going to fall into my lap!

In September of last year, I decided to go and try out a new fitness regime. Having read about The Bar Method online and perusing the various YouTube videos, I thought I would like to give it a try. Fortunately for me, there was a studio in Winter Park, so after dropping G off at preschool one morning, I went along and took a class. I immediately fell in love.

To quote the official website, the Bar Method technique draws from the principles of isometrics, dance conditioning, interval training, and physical therapy to create an hour long, ballet-barre based class. The result is a noticeable “Bar Method” sculpted body featuring:

– Firm, elongated muscles
– Reduced body fat
– High muscle definition in the chest
– Improved posture
– Long, narrow thighs
– A lifted seat and defined hamstrings
– Strong, flat abdominals
– Increased stamina and energy
– Extended youthfulness

After years of going to the gym and doing the same old routine, I finally felt like I was doing something different and beneficial for my body. I was into yoga for a few years and even completed about 400 hours of teacher training in Ashtanga Yoga. I ran on the elliptical and lifted weights 4-5 times a week, but I just felt I had hit a plateau. The Bar Method just totally kick-started my workout and my mental psyche.

In just a month I started to see and feel a difference in my body. I certainly started to use muscles that I hadn’t used in a long time/ever!!! Aside from the obvious physical benefits of The Bar Method, I also found myself excited to go to class each morning after I dropped G off at Pre-K. The owner and instructors are all amazing there… so friendly and kind and helpful. AND I love the clientele. I had found some of the local yoga studios a bit snobby and cliquey, but I immediately started to make friends with ladies at The Bar Method. It is just generally a great sense and feeling of community as soon as you set foot in the door. So refreshing and appealing. Add to that the fact that the studio is just gorgeous… very modern and clean-chic with a spa-type feel. Of course I was pretty pumped to see all the beautiful barres and mirrors in each studio. It made me feel like I was finally home!

After a month of practice, the owner made asked me one day if I would be interested in becoming an instructor. Would I?!! In December, I had an interview and “got the job”! I was pretty ecstatic as I really feel this job is right up my alley… and the fact that it is part-time and has flexible hours works well with my responsibilities of being a Mum and a wife.

So long story short (or is it too late to say that?!) I am off to Austin on Sunday to take part in a week-long intensive training course. I will then come back and train onsite at the studio for a few months until I am ready and capable to a) teach, and b) take my final exam to become certified.

I’m really excited (and a tad nervous at the prospect of leaving my sweet little girl and hubby for so long) for this new chapter in my life, and thought it would be fun (?) to blog about my journey. The training process is really tough for The Bar Method, but I like a challenge, and I am hopeful I can do a good job.

Watch this space!

The Bar Method- A Minute of Power and Beauty