First things first, I should let you all know I’m Alive and Well. I’ve never taken a break from writing my blog for this long. Sorry if I had you worried! I just needed a break. You how sometimes you just get tired of the fat struggle. But, anyway I’m back!
Right now I’m on vacation in Los Angeles, California. I’m hanging out with my “Hollywood Aunt” Cleo King. Now that she’s a TV regular on Mike and Molly, she gets noticed everywhere we go. Most people stare for a while and then have a confused look and say to her “Hey, I think I know you from somewhere? You look so familiar.” I just laugh when she smiles and replies to them “you look familiar too!” You might recognize her as the cop from The Hangover movie in the scene with the taser gun.
I love the perfect weather in Cali, every day sunny skies with cool breeze. We’ve have had so much fun! She had a big 4th of July pool party and we even took a mini vacation road trip to Palm Springs. It was so hot there; I think it was 112°. “Palm Springs” sounds tropical to me I had no idea it was right in the middle of the desert. We spent the day shopping and had an awesome mountain view from our hotel room.
When we got back to LA, we started out the day on the naughty side. We ate breakfast at Rosco’s Chicken and Waffles. I’m pretty sure it’s the best waffle I’ve ever had.
It was so freaking delicious, everything was covered in butter. Nonetheless, a few hours later we had an appointment with her super cute personal trainer Jason, he’s also a model with beautiful grey eyes.
My aunt started her routine on the stationary bike to warm up, and I started out on the elliptical machine. Jason asked if I had any limitations, and I told him that I experience pain in my knees when I do squats. He told me, if I feel pain in my knees during squats, then I’m doing them incorrectly. He informed me that all of my weight should be toward the back of my foot, so much so that I should be able to lift my toes during the squat.
He had me spend time doing slow squats in the mirror to improve my technique. It was hard. It’s so challenging to unlearn something when you have done it the wrong way for so long. Then he had us do circuit interval training. Our workout so intense! We alternated between squats and sitting on the medicine ball with the big giant rope thingies that I’ve seen contestants use on the biggest loser.
I was amazed with his clear understanding of how my body should work, and he never made me feel “fat.” I spend so much time mentally dismissing my body that it took extra work to actually focus in and pay attention to it. I usually pay enough attention not to over exert myself, but he told me I really need to focus more on my core and connect with how my body feels to make sure I’m working out properly. My Aunt and I were sweating profusely by simply doing small deliberate controlled movements. We didn’t do much high intensity cardio. We also worked with a small hand weight and did some resistance exercises that worked a muscle in my back that I almost forgot was there… “I’m a celebrity, I can do this!” My aunt jokingly sang out loud to hype herself up during the difficult resistance training routine. Jason and I were cracking up laughing. It wasn’t so funny when my turn rolled around and I was struggling too. She said “You’re a celebrity!” I told her, “Un-Un no, I’m a celebrity’s niece!” We all got a good laugh out of that.
He monitored me walking on the treadmill and even gave me techniques and stretches to improve my natural walk and posture. It was an awesome workout I couldn’t wait to blog about it. Even though we were dragging our feet getting to the gym, especially after the fried chicken and waffles, we both had to agree that when it was over, we felt great. I told her that one of my favorite sayings is that I have never ever regretted it a work out.
After our workout she dropped me off at the department store…. “Hi, my name is Carli, and I’m a shopaholic.” I shopped as if I hadn’t shopped enough the entire week since I’ve been here, but yet I shopped some more. I had a little extra cash, because my Aunt spoiled me, I didn’t have to pay for much of anything the whole time I was visiting. I was feeling good from my natural workout high and my retail high, so I decided to walk back to her house from the store. With all the food that I’ve eaten since I’ve been here on vacation I definitely needed to get in as much activity as possible. When riding in the car, the store is about two minutes away. But, everything seems really far when you’re walking. “Almost there,” I said when I reached the first intersection. Except, I wasn’t almost there, I couldn’t even see her house yet. My legs and arms were sore from our personal training session and my bag was feeling heavier. I was starting to rethink my overzealous attempt to walk back. There was another stoplight a few blocks further, that had to be the right intersection. Luckily it was. It was a lengthy walk, probably close to a mile or so. When I rang the doorbell, Aunt Cleo screamed with shock and gave me a big hug. She couldn’t believe that I walked home from the store, especially since we had just finished an exhausting work out.
We quickly showered and got dressed for a comedy show hosted by one of her friends. She had a car service pick us up since it was about an hour away. A car service?! I’ve never experienced anything like that. I was so excited I had her snap a quick picture of me outside of the car. I didn’t care if I looked like the backwoods Missouri girl in the big city of celebs. It’s not every day I have a driver to escort me to my destination. I had a blast living the Hollywood life. I’m already planning my next trip!
Carli I have missed reading about you. I am so glad that you are back because you are truly an inspiration.
Thanks Nikki!