House Calls!

No, I do not go to people's houses to perform services, but my house was calling for some major attention Saturday! After a full week of having plenty of things to do everywhere but home, my house was in dire need of some attention!

Dyson_Vacuum_Cleaner by Jenna Fuller licensed by CC BY-SA 2.0

Now let me tell you, I have had plenty of people ask me why I don't get someone to help around the house since I'm always out and about. Well, my own mother would probably be VERY disappointed in me if I were to do that! I can already hear her, "your house will always need to be your first priority Marisa!" All week though that priority gets casually pushed aside as I take care of any and everything else that needs done! But my weekend is dedicated to my house now!
Let me tell you, I am in for a big one this weekend! I managed to clean bathrooms, living rooms, and kitchen yesterday but still have my fair share of work cut out. My laundry has grown to be two big mounds of dirtiness.  If you're a mother of boys you know they go through clothes just about as quick as they would through a bag of candy! And since my husband is out of town right now I have a little less than usual, but still it's a whole other mound to do! Luckily, my oldest son who is six now, helps out!
He manages to clean his room, vacuum, feed the dogs, and fold a bit of laundry! Now, is all of this done perfectly? No, not at all, but he really tries and he does do a pretty good job! Especially going after my two-year-old who manages to tear up anything we have made progress on!
So, my weekend is pretty much staying indoors and catching up house work! Doesn't sound like much, but after spending all week anywhere but home until late afternoon, doing house work is almost a form of meditation! And doing the major jobs that I don't do during the week is very much needed! How do you spend your weekends? Are you a home-body also, or would you rather stay outside? Either way, remember to always do what makes you happy!

Happy Hour

So, I already gave you all a little taste of what my day consists of, correct? Well, now I really need to share a little more about one of my passions: Z-Z-Z-Zumba! Every afternoon I drive over to a nearby small town and teach a one hour Zumba class. Everyone has that one thing that they do to unwind and remove some of the days stress, I truly and wholeheartedly believe that mine is this amazing one hour of class where I can physically just shake the problems off. No alcohol needed here!

In all honesty, I need to let you know, I used to not like Zumba at all. I was one among the many that thought: how will shaking my booty for an hour help me in any way? And how embarrassing would that be!? Plus I had tried it before, and the teacher and ambiance was not very good. I felt self-conscious and the instructor didn't really "instruct" per-se. One day, however, in a different fitness class many of my peers there asked me to come with them to one class taught by another instructor who had taken the class of the previous instructor. Let me tell you - that day changed my life! It was so fun, everyone was encouraging, and the instructor actually taught and engaged with her students! That is all that it takes! The one instructor who will really make you love yourself, and everyone around!
After getting certified last fall, I began teaching it. Like all things new many come into my class and don't know what to expect and and truthfully I was this way during my first couple of classes also! I'm pretty sure I was sweating more from being nervous than from the actual workout! Time works its' course, however, and it starts becoming like a small family group and you show up once a day to support, encourage, and keep each other accountable. Are there days when people just do not want to workout, including myself? Of course! Isn't everyone human, though? I just keep reminding everyone not to give up, because if anything most of my students are hard working moms who do so much for everyone else. They really deserve an hour for themselves to be able to focus on no one but their own person, and what better way than with a group of other people who completely understand you! In a way it can be very therapeutic!
I don't think I will ever find a workout that will energize me as much as Zumba does, and really it may be that I feed off of everyone else's energy also. It can be the worst day and walking out of that class full of wonderful people just switches up my mood! Sure, I still love plenty of other workouts and weights are a great focus session too, but nothing has met the energy levels after a Zumba class!
What do you do as a get-away? Do you workout, run, or simply meditate? Have you attended a Zumba class you love, or have you even heard of it? Let me know! I would love to hear about how you spend your happy hour!

To-Do Tuesday

So Tuesday was a great example of my day to day life and trying to work around everything. Things on my to-do list for Tuesday were: go to work, meet with my insurance adjuster, take my son to his ENT appointment two hours away, do some homework, and get back in time to teach my Zumba class in the afternoon.

To Do's by Courtney Dirks licensed under CC by 2.0

Work is simple for me, it comes naturally and doesn't really require much. I am a referral coordinator for the clinic in my local small town. This clinic has a pediatrician, two main family doctors, and two nurse practitioners. So basically I take care of all outgoing referrals for everyone but the pediatrician because his nurse does her own referrals. Anyone else's referrals, however, I take care of including all of the lovely paperwork and pre-authorizations that come along with them. I also upload medical records needed and basically any other busy work handed to me. Yes, mainstream and fairly easy.
Now, out of the boring! So this past weekend I had the lovely incident of hitting a pothole in a construction cite on the way home. Just a pothole, right? Why is this of any importance or why should it involve my insurance adjuster? Well, this lovely pothole caused my shocks to go out, which made every airbag in my vehicle (front to back except for two) deploy, it made the lights in my headliner pop out, my A/C quit working, seat belts locked, and my hazard lights will not shut off. For once in my life time I was going speed limit because I realized how terrible these potholes are on that highway, and still they caused all of that damage, so I still have yet to hear what will happen to my Cadillac, but so far we are looking at it possibly being totaled. My only decent working vehicle and now I am wondering what in the world I will do because my truck needs a new engine to function properly also. So, all in all my vehicle dilemma is a work in progress!
Now, my oldest son had to have his tonsils and adenoids extracted about two weeks ago because they were causing him to have sleep apnea. If you don't know what sleep apnea is, it is a condition that makes you quit breathing in the middle of your sleep which causes your brain to have to wake up during resting auto-pilot mode and remind your lungs to breathe because something is either obstructing your airway or making your lungs forget to breathe. Well my son's tonsils have been HUGE for quite some time now which have caused this little dilemma for him, and being a mother you know: if your son snores VERY loudly and quits breathing in the middle of the night, you are going to freak out a bit! Luckily now, however, he is sleeping soundly, no more restless nights, and we have gotten over the bad/ stinky breath stage of his recovery (thank the Lord)! His appointment though was two hours away from my small town, so in order to make all things fit I worked just a bit in the morning, met with my adjuster, and quickly took off to his follow up appointment.
Now, being in the great city of Amarillo you cannot simply go and come back without enjoying some of the stores, Starbucks, and any restaurant that serves a good steak! But being on a time constraint due to my afternoon Zumba class, I only got to enjoy Chick-fil-A and Starbucks. Not what I would have wanted but my kiddos did and I was happy to get a quick bite and come back to small town USA.
Question: have you ever attended a Zumba class? They are sooooo uplifting it is hard to explain the energy and well being you absorb from a class! I have the privilege of teaching a class in a nearby small town, and let me tell you, my students are the best! I am not only saying this because it's my class and I have to. No. As an instructor I literally feed off of everyone energy and they are always so positive everyone is encouraging and no one ever judges one another! Teaching this class is not only a great work-out but also a great social hour and the accountability of everyone constantly keeps you on track!
Finally my day winds down with more school work, cleaning the house, watering my plants and lawn, and putting my two great boys to bed. Putting them to bed is always a task in its own since out of the blue they will be thirsty, have a full bladder, and are simply the neediest people on earth! Their excuses to keep from going to bed always crack me up! Just another reward of being a mother!
So yes, this is my typical day, and through it all I must remain w
ith a positive attitude and outlook, because the moment my mindset goes south, well lets just say momma's wrath is not a pretty sight!
So, how do you keep busy? Better yet, what helps you get through your busy day such as my typical Mom day? Do you have something inspirational or a class that helps you unwind? I'd love to hear how all the happy wives and moms out there keep themselves up and running! Have a great week y'all, and I will be in sync again here soon!