Category Archives: The Bar Method

Fantastic deal for new clients at The Bar Method Winter Park and Dr. Phillips!

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As you know I work at The Bar Method in Winter Park, and I love the studio so much that I want to help spread the word! I am so excited to be able to offer all of my friends an awesome deal on classes! Talk about perfect timing with the holidays coming up fast!

They’ve given me a promotion code that will get you 30 days of unlimited classes for $50, which is $145 off of the listed package price. This is the lowest price they’ve ever offered. What’s so awesome is that not only is it a great deal, but you’ll still be able to take advantage of their New Client Special, which is $89 for 30 days of unlimited classes, after you complete your first 30 days of this package…also an amazing deal!

If you don’t know what The Bar Method is, it’s pretty much THE exercise class to go to these days! It’s an hour-long group class using your own body weight and the ballet barre for resistance training that safely and effectively transforms your body. It’s intense and challenging, but the ultimate result is long, lean thighs, defined glutes, flat abs…and who doesn’t want that?! If you want to read up more, you can go to the website at http://www.barmethod.com.

You have until November 18th to take advantage of this deal. Use the link below and purchase the following package: “30 Days of Unlimited Classes”. On the payment screen enter this exclusive promotion code BARLOVE22 in the space provided. Remember, the code expires on November 18th, but your month of classes starts the first day you come to class, so you can choose to start at any time!

Feel free to forward this offer on to anyone you think may be interested, class is even more fun with a friend! Anyone is welcome to take advantage of this special deal!

Here is the link:

http://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws…

Don’t forget, the promotion code expires on 11/18/16, so please take advantage of this great offer soon!

Let me know if you have any questions, and I’ll check into it for you. I really hope you sign up and give it a try.

The team and clients at the studio are so nice, and it’s seriously an awesome workout that will totally change your body and life!

Sarah

Sarah

A tribute to El Macho…

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Laid back Max!

Laid back Max!

Today is a sad day. Today we woke up to find our darling little Maximus had passed away. And while he was just a little guinea pig (with a very large bum!) he managed to make a huge impact on our lives!

Snuggly piggy!

Snuggly piggy!

Maximus arrived at the Porter household on Christmas Day 2012. Dad found him at a local shelter, where he was getting beaten up by several other guinea pigs. He was just a tiny little chap but Dad couldn’t have picked a better piggy. From the get-go Max was kind, patient, sweet and very social. He was so laid-back to the point he was horizontal!

<3

❤

We called him El Macho or El Chucho because he grew and grew and grew into a very hunky piggy… and guinea pigs hail from South America, so of course he spoke Spanish (yes we are totally nuts!)… and he was full of passion!!! He ADORED Kate. Kate is our 14-year old yellow Lab.

Macho and Poopy

Kate and Max come in every night to watch TV with Bill and I. Yes, they come on the bed. This is normal, or?
Max would take every opportunity to get close to his beloved Katherine….

Sweethearts!

Sweethearts!

When Gwennie was sick, Maximus played nurse…

Nurse Maximus

Nurse Maximus

Maximus loved to watch The Walking Dead with Mummy (me!)…

The Walking Piggy

The Walking Piggy


Daryl Dixon and Max

Daryl Dixon and Max

Max liked to help me prepare my classes for work…

The Bar Maximus

The Bar Maximus

And he loved hanging out with friends…

Iron Man and Max putting the world to rights.

Iron Man and Max putting the world to rights.


Best friends!

Best friends!

When we went on holiday to the beach, Max came with us.

Beach Piggy!

Beach Piggy!

He was part of the family… loved, played with, and cuddled every day.

Last night, Max didn’t seem himself. He was wheezing a little and didn’t want to eat or drink. He just looked very peeky and lethargic.
I called Bob, (one of Bill’s brothers, who is a vet) and he said to keep him hydrated and bring him in the morning.
We couldn’t get Max to eat or drink anything. I loved on him all night until it was time for bed.
Bill checked on him in the middle of the night and he was still doing okay, but this morning we awoke to find he had passed away.
We were all heartbroken. It was awful to have to wake up Gwennie and give her the sad news. Of course, she was devastated.
Bill was absolutely amazing. I feel so very grateful that he was home and not traveling. He took charge of the situation and handled everything perfectly.
I was a blubbering mess. I still am!
Bill talked to Gwennie and he let her hug Max and say goodbye so that she could have closure.
He talked to her about his cat that he had had he was a little boy and how he felt when Frisky died.
He was just wonderful. Thank God for strong, compassionate hubbies!

I took Max to Bob this morning, who was also wonderful and so caring.
He said that there was probably nothing that we could have done to help Max.
When piggies get dramatically sick like that so quickly, there is usually no comeback.

We are really going to miss that little guy. He was just very special and very loved.
RIP Max. We’ll see you over the Rainbow Bridge!

My little mate!

My little mate!

Happy New Year! And a cleanse!

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Goodness, it is January 12th and I have written anything in my blog yet this year!
Happy New Year everyone… I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you a happy, healthy, successful, and love-filled 2013.

Our Christmas and New Year was lovely. It all went by far too quickly and whoops, here we are back into the swing of the normal routine: early mornings, school runs, ballet classes, work, etc, etc.

We do have a new addition to our family. Maximus the guinea pig arrived on Christmas Day via Grandpoo.
He is the dearest little guy and I will have to do another post solely focusing on him!
Gwennie is completely enamoured (as am I !).

We all tend to indulge a little during holiday times. Well, I certainly do. Lots of rich food to taste and a little more drinking than usual.
I decided to do a cleanse this past week to purge my old body of some toxins.

A friend of mine works for a company called Beyond Organic. She suggested I try the 3-Day Suero Viv cleanse.
The Suero Viv cleanse is designed to support the body’s natural cleansing and detoxification systems and help you reach a higher level of health than you’ve ever experienced. Available in three options: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. I took the Bronze one which consists of two flavours… Raspberry Lemonade and Citrus. You drink 6 bottles of these juices per day… and eat nada. The drinks are made up of whey culture and potassium and sodium to help cleanse out the cells of the body whilst protecting the body’s natural flora.
You can watch a video describing the cleanse right here!
The cleanse was designed to be a group one and ran from January 8th-10th.

Day 1: This was the toughest day for me. I was teaching two classes at The Bar Method that morning and felt a little foggy in my head. By the late afternoon, my head was crashing and I couldn’t really focus on anything much. I texted my friend and she told me that I should have slowly weaned off caffeine before the cleanse. Whoops! I took some Advil and went to bed early.
Day 2: My headache had pretty much dissipated and I felt more human. I found it much easier to teach class today and even took a class, which I found challenging but got through unscathed!
Day 3: I felt really tired on this day. I didn’t teach, but I did go in to take a class and found it a real struggle. No protein = no bueno for muscles. By the third day I was just craving the sensation of being able to chew something and I was really tired of the drinks. They didn’t taste that great… they were both very citrus-y in flavour and left a yukky taste in my mouth so I had to clean my teeth every time I drank one. I have a confession to make… on this day, I ate a baby carrot! I gave one to Maximus and the temptation was too great! I had to have one of those cold, crunchy things too! It was uh-mazing! Hahahaha!

So, I made it through the cleanse.
Down sides; I got really fed up with the flavours of the drinks. I would have liked more variety. And I should have detoxed off caffeine beforehand so I wouldn’t have been so tired. If I choose to do a cleanse again, I would definitely start/do it on days when I am not working. (I did have horrible dreams whilst I was cleansing. Was it cleansing my brain also???)
Up sides; I wasn’t hungry at all during the 3 days. I wanted to chew food, but I wasn’t physically hungry. Impressive! I lost 3 lbs… not as much as I would have liked to lose, but it was something. I definitely lost that bloated feeling that I had post-holiday nosh-up! And my skin looks great.

If I do the Suero Viv cleanse again in the future, I think I would opt for the Silver one, as it has 3 varieties of drinks.
A little more variety makes a heck of a difference when that is all you are drinking for 3 days.

Cleansing isn’t for wimps! It definitely takes some willpower and I am so relieved I made it through 3 days.
Hopefully I did myself some good and got rid of some toxic sludge! Mmmmmmm!!!!!

The holidays are coming!

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…and I haven’t posted in ages!

October was a funny old month. It was a month of feeling pretty blue. I am glad to say I have since picked myself up, dusted myself off, and am back on track again.

The end of October brought the loss of a dear friend of ours. Herb O’Brien was an amazing man who was like a father and mentor to Bill. It’s so sad to think he is gone and we won’t see him again. We loved him very much and we love his family. We flew up to Seattle the first week in November to attend his memorial service. It was held at his beloved Radar. It was a very touching affair and it was so good to see old friends. I am so grateful that I was able to go and I am very thankful to my lovely co-workers at The Bar Method for covering my classes so I could go and support Bill and Herb’s family.

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We enjoyed a lovely weekend with one of my dearest friends, Jenn, last weekend. It was her birthday and so she came to stay with us for a couple of days. We went to Epcot for the day on Saturday and had a wonderful time! She is so easy to be with and Gwennie adores her too!

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I had my evaluation with Karen at The Bar Method last week. It went well and was a positive experience! I am really looking forward to the future! I feel so lucky to be doing a job that I love!

Gwennie has had a busy week what with a Thanksgiving Pow Wow with her Kindergarten and The Nutcracker ballet recital! Such precious memories!

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Now we are gearing up to the Thanksgiving celebrations which we will be hosting at our house.

My Mum arrives on Monday! Can’t wait to have her here for 2 weeks!

A very happy Thanksgiving to one and all! I am so thankful for my amazing family, for dear friends, a job that I love, and good health!

 

A week (or two) in September

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I have been itching to write a post for a while now but life just gets in the way! I have had so many topics in my head depending on the day and my mood.
I guess now will be a mish-mash of thoughts and happenings!

What’s going on?

Spent a lovely mini-weekend with my beloved Bar Method Babes.
Karen (the boss from heaven) treated us all to a retreat at an idyllic location in New Smyrna Beach in honour of our 1 year anniversary of the Winter Park location.
We all met up at the house, which was tucked away up a country lane surrounded by beautiful fields, after lunch on Saturday.
We took part in some team building exercises, which were a lot of fun.
Karen, generous as ALWAYS, gave each of us a gift of a framed group pictures and she had made hilarious Paper Plate Awards for each and every one of us.
Mine was: Most Likely to Get Anyone to Do Anything Just by Opening Her Mouth!
Then it was time to get our fun on! Trish had made a wonderful welcome cocktail with Malibu and Pineapple Juice (and other special secret Trish ingredients!!!!). It was perfect!
Then the wine bottles were cracked open. We all made pizza together. Ellen was our Pro Pizza Maker… she had us all in fits as she rolled and flipped and spun the dough around like a true Italian!
I have the most beautiful memories of this amazing group of women, each so different in looks, style, background, and personality, as they all came together and just laughed and laughed and laughed.
I have some great videos of our weekend, which I won’t share here… anyone who wasn’t there probably wouldn’t truly “get it” anyway… but for us girls, it was a great memory to keep and we all said how much we rolled around just watching the footage again.
We played a game into the wee hours…. Ellen brought it and I forget the name, but it was something like “Guesstures”… a type of Charades. It was absolutely raucous and hilarious!
We all cozied up and slept a little before congregating in the kitchen once more for breakfast and more giggles.
It was a great bonding experience and we really missed the ladies who were not able to make it… Kendra, Kelly, Morgan, Fionaaaaaaa, and Suzanne.
A huge thanks to Karen for making it all happen. Once gain, I am blown away by this amazing family that I am so lucky to be a part of.

The Bar Method Winter Park 1 Year Anniversary Retreat

Talking of families, I want to give kudos to my darling husband, who still amazes me every day with his supportive nature and actions.
Bill held the fort whilst I went away for a night. As typical as life is in throwing its curve-balls, his shop was broken into on Saturday night.
Thankfully our BFF James was in town staying at our house and so he watched Gwennie whilst Bill drove in to town to meet with the Sheriff.
Really, really fortunate, else it would have been an even more difficult situation for Bill.

I feel very blessed to be surrounded by such good people. Bill has just been amazing with my new work commitments.
Obviously, as the owner of a successful business, he is the bread-winner in the family. For me to work, it had to fit around his schedule.
However, he has been so kind, supportive, and helpful to me. It has been a transition to go from stay-at-home Mum to back-in-the-workforce Mum.
We live out in the sticks and to get G to school and go to work means driving around 60 miles a day. I get up at 5am most days during the week.
I spend about 2 hours in my car every day. Sometimes more.
I have to admit, I was feeling a little burned out last week.
Even though he works all hours, Bill immediately jumped in and offered to take G to school an extra couple of mornings this week so that I could have an extra hour or so in bed.
I appreciate it so much… it truly is the little things that mean so much. I am so lucky to have such a great husband/friend.
He has thrown himself into his new workout regime and has spent 4 mornings this week working out with his TRX personal trainer.
I’m really proud of him, because I know he does not love working out!

Bill & Gwennie at Daddy Daughter Donut Day

Gwennie continues to enjoy her new school life.
I did laugh this week as she came home informing me that her class is raising money to adopt a manatee.
She thought that adopting a manatee meant that said manatee would come and live with us… in our pool… or pond across the road.
I had to explain that the money raised to “adopt” the manatee would just go towards caring for him in his natural habitat.
Cue sweet disappointed face!
She is all fired up to go back to Sea World and visit the manatees there though.
I am looking forward to less humid days so that we can get back into visiting some of the parks on a weekend. So much fun!

Dear Kate is still the matriarch of the house. I hate watching her start to struggle with her stiff back legs.
She doesn’t seem to be in pain, but it is an effort for her to get up after being laid down for a while.
I loathe that she is getting older. She will be 13 at Christmas. I wish we could press the pause button.

Sweet old lady, Kate!

Photo Shoot by Debbie Cirillo

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We had some photos taken in the Winter Park studio last week.
The Winter Park and Dr. Philips crew joined forces for some group shots that will be used on the websites.

Cayce’s friend Debbie Cirillo did a great job for us!
Here are some of the pictures….

Beautiful Cayce and her amazing arms!

Bicep curls!

Push-ups

Thigh- 2nd position

Stretch at the Bar Level 2

Stretch at the Bar

Reverse push-ups

Beth’s beautiful arms!

The gorgeous Danielle and I demonstrate Round-Back

Flat-Back!!!

Sweet Karen!

Reverence

The best bosses in the world! Cayce Hurley and Karen Moreno

My beautiful and talented coworkers! Top row from L to R: Caitlin, Kendra, Mimi & Trish. Bottom row L to R: Kelly, Danielle, Ellen, Karen, me, Cayce, & Beth.

More amazing news for The Bar Method of Central Florida!

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I heard some great news this morning. Cayce Hurley (co-owner of the upcoming The Bar Method Dr. Philips and current instructor at Winter Park) has been asked by Burr Leonard to be a part of an Advisory Panel at The Bar Method HQ to use her knowledge as a Physical Therapist to assist with technique and modifications.

I can’t tell you how proud I am of Cayce! She totally deserves this position. Cayce is extremely knowledgeable about matters of the physical body and it has been such a blessing to have her wisdom to turn to on many occasions at work.

Wow! What a team I work with! All of my coworkers are amazing and exceptional women. They each have something unique and special to offer. I am so honoured to work with them and learn from them!

The amazing Cayce, with equally fabulous instructors Danielle and Trish in the background.