downtown raleigh

| cheriarmour

What a week what a week what a week!

So, some updatey-type things.  I am still pregnant lol.  Every day I walk into work, I see my boss’s eyes widen, and he’ll (in the nicest way) be like “Oh thank God, you’re here!”  It’s funny, like on Wednesday, I was feeling a little pukey, and I ended up lying around the house for a long time, and on Thursday when I came in, everyone was like, “Oh!  We thought you might have had your baby!”  Nope, still here!

The week’s been good.  Productive at work, and not so much at home, but hoping for that magical burst of fairy energy that will help me straighten up and get that last push to get things together.

First let’s talk about the funniest thing that happened last week – this spine thing.  So like a year ago, someone left this really really elaborate, doctor-grade spine in my office, and we could not figure out where it came from.

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Since I’m going to be out on maternity for a while starting sometime soon, I’ve been straightening out my office, and the spine had to go. So I put it up for free on one of those buy/sell/trade/free pages on Facebook, and within MOMENTS, I had requests left and right for this thing. And then I got these unbelievably weird comments. One suggesting that I send the spine to Obama, and another simply stating that there were plenty of spineless people in this country that could use it. Uhhh…ok weirdo, do you want this thing for your classroom that you’re decorating or not? Anyhoo, a guy ended up coming to get it, and I hope it works out for him. I had ZERO idea that I was in possession of such a hot ticket item, but glad this somewhat offbeat item could find a home.

I think I found a new occasional lunch spot?

I sort of mentioned this last update this place I found in downtown Raleigh, Raleigh Raw, which is this really crunchy kind of juice place with really interesting food combos.  I will caveat this place by saying it is pricey for lunch, okay?  I’m not saying it’s not worth it, but it costs more than snagging something quickly at like Wendy’s, but hear me out. IMG_9351.JPG

My friend Devin went and told me exactly what I needed to order, this bowl thingie with rice and sesame seeds, and mango and watermelon and some salmon…I don’t know, there was a lot going on, but it was delicious, super super filling, and I didn’t feel the least bit crappy when I finished it. Now, someone in my office complained about what that horrible smell was, but hey, can’t win ’em all.  If you’re local and and all into this sort of thing, check it out.  They also had kombucha on tap and some other interesting stuff in their grab-n-go, so it’s worth checking out.

I also swore I was retired from teaching as of last week I think, but that was not to be.

I had to fill in last minute for class two times this week, and I think I’m really retired now.  This Zumba class I did today, I did a lot more coaching than I am used to, but it was literally exactly what the baby wanted, and I couldn’t do more without feeling like I was overdoing it.  I am so grateful for the fact that I have remained active for so long, and I plan to keep walking and stretching, but my Pump/Cycle/Zumba days are on hold for now, and that’s what the baby wants 🙂

On that note, I am so excited for when the time is right and I’m able to run again.  I miss it.  More than missing running, I miss the social aspect and the efficiency of being able to go for a run and then pretty much being done with my cardio for the day. I’m not good at doing things slowly, and sometimes I’m too slow for my own liking these days.  But that’s okay.

What are your plans for the weekend?

A day in the life!

| cheriarmour

I’ve talked about it here, what I do for work.  My work as Group Fitness Director is awesome.  I think one of the coolest things about the work, besides getting to teach a ton of group fitness classes…

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Me, after an early morning class.

…is that no two days are the same. And I think when I “became an adult,” a phrase I really use loosely, one of my biggest fears was that I would get sucked into a profession, where I was doing the same thing every single day. The thought of doing something that wouldn’t allow me to be on my feet or would be the same drudgery day in and day out really scared me, and thinking back, it’s something that has scared me since childhood. I distinctly remember being in high school, where the most variety we had was A-day B-Day scheduling, being terrified that this was what real life might be like. Thankfully, years later, the Y presented itself as an amazing opportunity, and it was clear that no two days were the same.

Which is mostly really cool.

Mostly.

Tonight, I closed the building, which all directors do once a week. I don’t mind, and usually, instead of sitting in front of my laptop the entire night, I run around, doing little projects or putting out little fires. So tonight was no different. I set up the prenatal yoga class, tore it down, visited the Zumba, Vinyasa, and Cycle classes, and checked on the kid downstairs who came in last minute for us.

Close to closing though, we ran into a rather large snafu. Somewhere along the way, someone gave a member the wrong keys, and the member took the keys home, leaving another member with the wrong keys.

Launch full-blown investigation.

From the wrong keys, I was able to gather  that the member was actually a member of a Y in Greater Charlotte.  I called the Siskey YMCA and begged for them to call the members emergency contact based on the info I gave them.  They did.  His parents confirmed that those were their son’s keys, and gave me their blessing to call him.  I called, we figured out that he had the wrong keys, and in a snap-decision judgement, I took off, went to the members home, and swapped out the keys.

To say that today wasn’t dull is the understatement of the entire century.  Here’s to tomorrow being the most boring, mundane, and dull day January 2016 has ever seen.

What do YOU do for work?  

What does your day consist of?

Really? Me?

| cheriarmour

You really never know where teaching and fitness is going to take you, right?  I was a total slob kabob in college, and I blink, it’s like 5 years later, and I’m in love with what I do.

Which brings me to this.

A few months back, I was invited to speak at St. Mary’s School, an all-girls boarding school here in Raleigh.  It’s so interesting.  The woman who invited me to speak has taken a lot of my pump classes, and felt like I would be great to speak to the girls as a “woman in fitness”.  What she didn’t know asking me is that, one, that I love working with that age group (high schoolers), and I really gravitated toward this group at camp.  I still get Seventeen Magazine, am obsessed with Katy Perry and Justin Bieber, and am routinely mistaken for about 10 years younger than I am.  I hope that is a compliment to my skin, and NOT evident of what people think of my maturity level.  Ugh.

But anyways, all that is to say, I relate to this group really really well, and I’m so, so excited to speak to them, but I’m also 100% freaked out at the fact that someone would want me to speak to their kids.

I’m not sure what to say.  I drink.  I shower as little as society will allow.  I would prefer to spend all my time in a bikini if it is over 80 degrees.  I swear.  Like a lot.  And I’m not sure exactly why Caroline thought of me to speak to the girls.  But I’m honored.  And I hope I say the right things, the things that high school girls need to hear.

What DO high school girls need to hear?

What would I have wanted to hear in high school?

  • Always bring a sweater.  You will always be cold.
  • Start taking care of your body NOW.  Don’t let things creep up on you.  When you get to college, your mom will not be there to remind you to balance your meals.  BALANCE YOUR MEALS.  That means eat something not fried for breakfast.  Eat something sensible for lunch.  Sushi or a salad works.  Same goes for dinner.  Do at least 20-30 minutes of activity today.  You start that shit early, and you will be set.
  • Watch the news when you get ready for school/work.  You don’t want to be that idiot that knows nothing when folks are talking.  Don’t just rely on fake Facebook articles to keep yourself informed.
  • Do something that makes you laugh every single day.
  • I struggle with this one.  Get up early and do something.  Get to bed at a reasonable time.  Again, I struggle with this one but I have never ever regretted getting up early to get stuff done.
  • If you’re interested in it, go for it.  Just do it.  Don’t let your boyfriend, or your mom, or your friends talk you out of anything you have in your mind!

**So update alert.  I wrote this post prior to going out to school.  I went to school to speak to the girls on Tuesday, and it was an absolutely amazing, incredible experience, and I definitely, definitely would LOVE to do it again.

The engagement started with me getting a chance to see St. Mary’s School, a girls boarding AND day school here in Raleigh, NC.  The campus was really pretty, and reminded me of college.  Caroline, who had arranged for us to be there met me along with some students who were enjoying lunch.  I grabbed lunch in their dining hall, which was really nice, and included a painted portrait of Kylie Jenner, which I totally appreciated.

Caroline set me, and the three other women on the panel up in the performance hall, and we got started by introducing ourselves, what we did, and a little reason why we were sitting on the panel.  The women were great.  One was a career counselor.  Another, a director of a non-profit that paired horses with kids who had faced trauma, and still another directed at a local art gallery here in Raleigh.

And then there was me.

When it came my turn to introduce myself, I did what I do best, and I had everyone spread out and lead them through a movement and breathing exercise.

The girls, extremely impressive girls, asked wonderful questions, ans were highly engaged.  They were poised, beautiful, and confident, and I felt absolutely honored to be in their presence.  After the session, I got a chance to hug some of the girls and talk to them, and I was, and still am blown away by what they did.

I would love to guest speak once again, and hope I brought to the girls, a fraction of the joy they brought me on Tuesday.

Happy Friday, y’all 🙂

xoxo ❤

Pet Peeves

| cheriarmour

Hi!

How are you guys doing today?

I’m fine fine fine, currently feeling a little sorry for myself since I decided to not do a trail race this weekend so I could nurse my knee back to health.  I’ve been able to work out, run a little, and teach, but I feel like running on unstable surfaces when I potentially have my meniscus torn is not a great idea.  I need to wait for an MRI to be 100% sure though.  But I’m feeling sorry for myself, a little jealous, and as a result, have eaten like a total hog today.  I deserve a spanking (as my ESL mother says from time to time).

So, I’m actually sitting outside at the local coffee shop, and just sitting here sort of fueled this post.  You’ll understand why in a second.

Cup A Joe

My Pet Peeves:

  • Cigarette smoke.  I’ve never been a smoker.  My parents never smoked, so it was never really a thing.  Plus I was born in the late 80s, so by that time, we were all onto the whole smoking causes cancer thing, so it’s actually pretty rare to find someone our age who smokes.  So I’m sitting outside at this coffee shop, and trying to work, blog, and enjoy a cup of coffee, and there are groups of people around me smoking Parliments and Marlboros.  It’s disgusting, distracting, and makes my hair smell like shit.  And I can’t wash my hair all the time, so my options are to grin and bear it, or go sit and freeze inside.
  • People with bad grammar.  They’re/their/there.  You’re/your.  Its/it’s (which funny enough, appeared incorrectly on this blog in a link last week).  “You’re doing good”.  Like please, for the love of Jesus, look at a few newspaper articles, and just absorb some of what is considered appropriate grammar.  And social media makes this complete disregard for the English language really apparent.
  • When someone emails you….then emails or texts again 30 minutes later to ask if you’ve received their email.  That’s when I start to become a little passive-aggressive, and sometimes don’t respond all together.  Of COURSE I haven’t gotten your email yet because I haven’t responded.  Perhaps I am away from my desk.  Perhaps I have a family?  Whatever it is, please show some regard for the fact that there are other people in this world than you.
  • Facebook’s read receipt.  This thing is the worst.  I actually just read an article on how to disable it, but then you can’t see when people have read your messages either, and I can’t have that.  But have you ever gotten a message on Facebook that made you toss your head back and groan?  And then you opened it?  And you either have to live with the fact that this person knows you’re ignoring them, or you have to respond.  I do not appreciate that.  Not at all.

All that said…

What are your pet peeves?

LucetteGrace

| cheriarmour

I like sweet things.  A lot.  I adopted a pretty wicked sweet tooth from my mother, made only worst by my copious consumption of artificial sugar.  Which blah blah, I know it’s not good for me, but my dad is diabetic, and I got into a Splenda and Stevia habit sorta early.  One thing I don’t do – aspartame.  That’s a teeny bit before my time, and to me, it kinda taste like shit.

^^

All this to say, that my copious consumption of artificial sweeteners in the past, especially during the summers at camp when I’d road trip a lot (diet sodas) has increased my sweet tooth by a ton (the crap in artificial sweeteners tends to do that), and I’m pretty discerning in my sweets.

Enter LucetteGrace.

So, about a week ago (cue Bobby Schmurda dance) a friend mentioned offhand that she’d gone to this bakery/pastry shop.  She didn’t understand how serious I was about the shop, and as soon as I left her, I hunted around downtown Raleigh to find the shop.  I found it, pulled in, and started to ogle everything behind the glass case, but sadly, I’d forgotten my camera.

The owner came out (his name is Daniel and he has a beard, btws), and saw that I was drooling, and was kind enough to chat with me and help me pick a few treats, and even slipped a few extra in the bag for me to take up and nosh on later.  So I grabbed a friend, and headed back just a few days later for a coffee date.

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Lucette 3

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Lucette Grace

Lucette 6To me, there is almost nothing more therapeutic than coffee, a sweet, and some time with a friend.  I left feeling like I had filled up my belly (for one), and filled up my love tank for two.  Sweets, words, coffee, and a very golden afternoon with a good friend was so healing.

So technically, LucetteGrace, named for the owner’s daughters, is a patisserie, which a bakery that exclusively serves french cakes and pastries. Located at 235 S Salisbury St, the sweets are sweet, but in a different way than American sweet. You have to try it to understand, but the treats go perfectly with a locally-brewed cup of Larry’s Beans (919 better stand up!), and an afternoon with friends.  What’s really cool about the patisserie, in addition to the taste, is the ambiance and decor of LucetteGrace – the space is clean and decked out in yellows and grays and seems like a good space to sit for an afternoon with your laptop for a productive dessert sesh.  It’s a nice alternative to a Starbucks; no shade to them of course, I’ve been hanging out there and have gotten a lot of work done at these places for years.  Bottom line – it’s difficult to mass-produce shit that tastes good, and Daniel at LucetteGrace has captured something special here.

Where’s your favorite place to get work done? 

Weekend Buzz

| cheriarmour

So, I totally hope you guys had an awesome weekend – I sure did!  It went by way way too fast, and I don’t feel like I got to spend enough time with Austin, but I’m hoping to make up for some of it this week.

So, after I did wine with Matthew on Friday night, and taught Zumba, I headed to the Raleigh Half Ironman expo to grab some cowbells, because come Sunday morning, I had plans to wake up early, cheer on some Half Ironman and Half Iromwomen, and grab brunch with one of my best friends in the entire world.

Let’s review really quickly.  So for those of you who are unfamiliar (cause prior to last year, I was!) with what a Half Ironman is, a Half Ironman (often denoted as 70.3), is a triathlon that involves a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile (whew!) bike ride, and a half marathon at the end (13.1 miles), to top it off.  I spectated last year, and had such a great time, that I went for it again this year.

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We started off by spectating some of the guys that would be considered elite.

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DSC_0710DSC_0711We changed locations to meet up with the Lemons (the cool chickaroos from Lululemon)

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Caitlin, on the left, was giving out free hugs, and it was really really cute to see folks stop, look really relived, and then go in for a big, sweaty hug.  At one point, she said she had to spit someone else’s sweat out of her mouth (GROSS!!?) but she was an awesome sport about it.

After I cheered and cowbelled for the Ironmen and ladies, I headed down to a carwash closer to the north side that had been revamped, and that was doling out free carwashes.  Since I’m on a budgeting kick, I could not justify paying to wash my car, so I went and got a wash, and vacuumed it out as well.

DSC_0720DSC_0719I’ve got to admit, the part where I put my car in neutral, and just sort of rode along was a little scary, and I’m not sure I’d like to do that again.

And finally, I was inspired by the folks from this morning that I topped this busy day off with a run.

How was your weekend?  

OMG PS ONE LAST THING!!!!!!!!!!  I finally registered for my Body Pump Training – so as of mid-July, I am going to Wilmington to get trained to teach Body Pump.  I am SO excited!!!!  Can you tell by all the exclamation points?

With a creative spirit also comes this irritating trait.

| cheriarmour

I’m horribly forgetful.  Horribly, horribly forgetful.  The only way I remember to keep my class schedule and show up to places is that I write every single thing, every single appointment down I have in an appointment  book, and once it’s written, it’s real.

Last week after a Zumba party…
Zumba Party

…I decided in order to keep up with my streak (more on that later), I needed to run, even though it was after 10pm.  But I didn’t want to miss my mile, my honey was gone for the weekend, and I was feeling antsy. So still wearing my Santa hat from the party, I drove to my old condo, which is in a super populated, well-lit area, don’t worry.  I parked my car, hid my keys somewhere in the car, and closed the door.  When I went to test the door to make sure it was still unlocked, I found, much to my immediate horror, that I had locked the door with my keys inside.

Damnit.

I called AAA from my phone, which I’d thankfully not locked in the car, and since in my experience, AAA takes years to get to you to unlock your car, I decided to go for my run, since it was also about 40 degrees out, and I wasn’t necessarily interested in freezing as I waited.  So down the road I went in my purple Moving Comfort jacket and Santa hat.  I’m sure I got a lot of strange looks.

Murphy’s Law must have been at work, because not a half-mile down the road, I got a call, which I answered mid-run from the tow-truck driver.

“Yeah I’ll be there in 10 minutes…”

And in the fastest lockout time in history, I arrived back to my car to the tow truck driver waiting on me.  So I jogged up, and explained to her why I was jogging around downtown at night with a Santa hat on.

Bruise

Now, in completely different news, I discovered this bruise the other night on my thigh, and I cannot, for the life of me, remember how or when I could have whacked myself so hard that me, being the dark-skinned girl that I am, could bruise like this. My forgetfulness at its finest…