A glimpse into the life of . . .

                   ABRA COLEMAN

Abra is a group fitness instructor at the gym I work at, and while I’m excited to feature her for everyone’s sake, I also chose her for the selfish reason of learning more about her myself. When I first started working there, I was captivated by the energy and enthusiasm she radiates going to and from her classes. 

Her influence on her students is obvious when I watch them all leave, sweating and smiling like crazy. I have yet to take one of her classes, since I am usually working when she’s teaching, but I look forward to (and dread – she works you hard!) the day when I finally can! 

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She also teaches yoga and yoga sculpt at the Calhoun Beach Club, works as a real estate agent, in sales and events for Athleta and is a volunteer yoga instructor at the Shakopee Women’s Prison. She’s also a recent empty nest mother of three whose eyes light up when she’s talking about her children – what she considers her greatest accomplishments.

I’ve gotten to know her a little better, and I’ve got to tell ya: if you’re having one of those days and looking for someone to join you in a pity party, Abra is not your woman. But if you’re having one of those days…or any day…and looking for someone with a positive outlook on life who is going to tell it to you straight, give you a better, clearer perspective and offer support in any way she is able, Abra is definitely your woman.

Here are a few more goodies from someone whose greatest passion is “building community through teaching” – how could you not learn a thing or two?

Dream job: My dream job is to have my own studio that provides community, yoga, juice, food and education.

First job ever: Waitress.

First job after graduating/first "grown up" job: Mother, real estate agent.

What drove you to pursue real estate: Money. I was getting divorced.

What is your favorite part about your job(s)? Connecting, sharing, inspiring.

What is the most challenging aspect? Compensation.

What advice do you have for someone pursuing a similar career path? Go for it. Find/follow your passion; then it doesn't feel like work.

What motivated you to become an aerobics/yoga instructor? I love fitness and groups.

What is your favorite part about being an instructor? Witnessing transformation.

What is your favorite way to work out? Yoga and yoga sculpt.

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What advice do you have for people new to the fitness world? Strength and flexibility are available to anyone who wants it. It takes time and commitment. It is a process - you don't get to the end at the beginning.

What advice would you give your 20-year-old self? Good question! I am not sure. I probably would not have listened anyway:)

How do you define success? Success is a feeling inside that is peaceful and productive with ease and energy.

Who has been your biggest influence, personally or professionally? My grandmother.

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What hobbies do you enjoy in your spare time? Family, friends, food and wine.

Number one on your bucket list: I'll get back to you on that!

Favorite ice cream flavor: Ben and Jerry's Greek yogurt banana.

Thanks, Abra!

Easter thoughts

I won't be able to post anything for the rest of the week, and my "glimpse" fell through for today (and why would I ever

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 think to be prepared and have others planned in advance?), so I decided to post a few random thoughts on Easter since it is fast approaching!

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This blog isn't about sharing my thoughts on religion, but it is about sharing most aspects of my life, so I will just say that Easter is one my absolute favorite times of the year (for reasons other than Reese's eggs and Peeps....and jellybeans and chocolate bunnies - I'm not a Cadbury creme fan). 

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As a Christian, for me it is a reminder of a huge sacrifice that was made for me and a time to take an honest look at my life and determine if I am living in a way that is even worthy of such a sacrifice and to see what changes I need to be making to try to become more worthy - changes that usually run a little deeper than typical goals set as New Year's resolutions, for example.

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It is also a time of hope and peace in the belief that there is more to our lives than just life until death and of joy in the thought of being with loved ones again after they leave us here on Earth.

For non-Christians surrounded by others celebrating the holiday with time off from work or feasts with friends and family, I would think now is as good a time as any to join in the spirit of revival - of any kind! Spring is here! Maybe not all the way, but it's OK to breathe a little sigh of relief and wave (among other things) goodbye to winter! 

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Spring is my favorite season. With grass peeking out, lakes thawing out and a brighter, warmer sun shining longer than it has for quite some time, I just cannot not be in a good mood! Everything is coming to life again, so why not give life to things you've been wanting to do but just haven't gotten around to yet? I seem to have the most energy this time of year, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

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And if none of this interests you, please at least immerse yourself in a delicious brunch! Find delicious recipes here, here, here and here!

Happy Easter! I hope you're able to spend lots of time with loved ones and beloved food groups!

Friday Favorites

Sometimes I post 'Friday Favorites' on Fridays. And sometimes I spend all night turning my laptop on and off until I admit defeat and go to bed. I'm winning today, though, so - 

Spring is here (well, for the most part - we can never get our hopes up too much around here)! Suddenly people exist, and they're all running outside. I've mentioned before that my iPod tunes are in desperate need of an update, but there are some pretty old goodies on there I will never part with. My taste in music is not necessarily appreciated by many people, but they just don't know what they're missing. Here are five of my favorite (slow, ancient) non-running songs to run to:

1. I Knew I Loved You - Savage Garden. Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones created many, many beautiful and incredibly underrated songs (in my humble opinion), and running may be the last thing you'd think about doing to this ballad, but that build to the chorus is actually pretty motivating for building up to a sprint!

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2. Mouth - Merril Bainbridge. No matter how tired I am, this song always picks me up. I don't know what it is that makes this so catchy and fun, but I love it!

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3. Already Gone - Kelly Clarkson. Oh, Kelly. You give me chills every time - fast or slow.

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4. Breathing - Lifehouse. My all-time favorite band. I don't know what I would do if I ever had the chance to see them play. Ahh. Again, I don't know why, but I find the slow-type build motivates me to move faster.

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5. Halo - Beyonce. I guarantee if Beyonce shouting at you that she can "feel your halo" doesn't get your butt in gear, thoughts of this gorgeous lady working it on stage will.
      

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      Happy running!

How to make every day a bad day

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I loved Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club, but I have to be honest: one of my favorite MM movies will always be How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and today's post is loosely inspired by the how-to-in-reverse concept.

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Lately I seem to have come face-to-face with life - reasons the phrase "life isn't fair" exists and situations that make you realize why your parents told you to stop trying to grow up so fast because it's not all it's cracked up to be (both from personal experiences and those of people around me).

Regardless of the severity of the hurdles you encounter, the easy reaction is to let them get the best of you  - aka let them swallow you up and make you feel hopeless and worthless (dramatic, much?). So just in case it's unclear, I've outlined a few ways to ensure you always feel like a failure and hold tight to that negative energy: 

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*Turn conversations with friends into frustration rants focused on ways you you can out-misery each other.

*Go home from these uplifting conversations and pore through every accomplishment of every single Facebook friend and LinkedIn contact to reiterate the fact that everyone you know (or just know of) is beating you at life.

*Invite a pizza to your pity party. . . and since you're so generous, invite a few cookies and pints of ice cream too.

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*After your new friends have weighed you down to the point where you're almost immovable, plop yourself in front of a mirror and pinch and squeeze and stare at and analyze every handful you can grab and dimple you can find until you don't even recognize the tear-filled eyes peering into and judging your soul.

*In a fit of desperation, create a list of goals resembling New Year's resolutions on steroids you are now required to stick to - starting tomorrow at 5 AM with the first of three daily workouts, mixed in with ridiculous short-term career goals and all the ways you'll be a better friend, employee, partner or stranger.

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*Wake up the next day and realize your list is unrealistic and the best thing to do, instead of lowering some of the expectations, is to tell yourself you'll start tomorrow for the next few days . . . of the rest of your life.

*Resent every stranger you pass because of his or her amazing life (that you invented in your head).

*Take every sour interaction you have personally and forget that people's actions say everything about them and have nothing to do with you.

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*Focus only on materialistic and temporal values. 

*Instead of being thankful you have a body healthy enough to run three miles, berate yourself for not running more.

*Instead of focusing on the things you're doing right in all life aspects, focus only on what you're not doing.

*Become so overwhelmed that you give up completely and tell yourself it's not even worth it to try anymore.

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*Worry, worry and worry a little more about things you can't control.

*Take playing the blame game to a whole new level.


*Take everything seriously and forget that life is about ups AND downs - and that the downs are almost more important than the ups.

I could go on and on, and I'm sure everyone could add something to this list. I am slowly learning that your attitude is really all you have, and though I may be a little late to the party, it is a beautifully painful lesson to learn, but one I hope to start living.

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Friday Favorites

Wednesday's glimpse was my 50th post! My first Friday Favorites listed my five absolute favorite blogs (SkinnyRunner no longer blogs, though, FYI), and I'm thinking 50 posts later is the perfect time to share five more, so here you go!

1. Run Eat Repeat

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She shares everything from running tips to recipes and all the super-relatable ups and downs experienced by us real girls trying to stay healthy (with plenty of indulgences in the mix).

2. Peanut Butter Fingers

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The name alone sucked me in, but what keeps me there are the recipes and workouts (two of my favorite things)! She's a personal trainer and shares a lot of mini easy-to-do-anywhere workouts along with the different DVDs and classes she loves.

3. The Fitnessista

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How shocked are you to find out that I love this blog for . . . the recipes and workouts? OK, so my favorite blog topics are somewhat limited, but I love what I love:) She's also a personal trainer and shares A LOT of workouts. Her husband is a pilot in the military, so it's interesting to read about that aspect of her life as well.

4. Kath Eats

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 A registered dietitian, she first started blogging a few years ago when trying to lose weight. She more than keeps it off now and shares a lot of awesomely healthy recipes.

5. Eat the Damn Cake

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 Her tagline reads, "Self-acceptance is delicious." Do I even need to say anything more? Hilarious and beautifully honest, you need to read her thoughts on everything from motherhood to friendship and the millions of general life happenings in between.

Happy reading this weekend!

A glimpse into the life of. . .

                ALLI JAGODA 

It's easy to fool yourself into thinking you're a photographer with all of the fancy gadgets, editing software and crazy amount of other technology out there today. But it takes a true artist to really capture a moment or emotion in a way that transforms it into - well, art.

Today's glimpse takes us into the life of one of these few: Alli Jagoda, owner of Sweet Light Studio and Alli Jagoda Photography. I met Alli almost two years ago through church, and though I was (and still kind of am) my awkward keep-my-head-down-and-hope-no one-notices-or-talks-to-me self, she has always been welcoming and gracious, and it is truly wonderful to be in her presence. And her photos? Exquisite. Take a peek here and here; then read below for some tips and tricks.

Current profession: Photographer/ Owner of Sweet Light Studio and Alli Jagoda Photography.

Summary about your studios and background: I’ve been doing commercial photography since I moved to Minneapolis to open a studio 14 years ago. Once I started my family I wanted to extend my work to something more flexible, and so I started another studio called Sweet Light Studio, which is a photography portrait business for just about anyone that wants to look good. I’ve found that I like shooting a mix of commercial and portrait work – it keeps things interesting!

Dream job: Shooting the children’s clothing catalog for Wee People or ads for The Gap.

First job ever: Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory at age 14. I got to make fudge in the store window display. Mmmm!

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First “grown up” job: Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine six-page fashion spread when I was 21 years old.

What drove you to pursue photography? I got accepted into college as a drawing and painting major, but I decided that I wasn’t that good and switched to photography knowing that photography would keep pace with my ideas faster than a paint brush.

What is your favorite part about your job?  I just love making pretty pictures that tell a story or that capture an honest moment.

From Alli's Sweet Light Studio

What is the most challenging aspect? Battling what I call the “perma-grin” with children. Many kids have been coached by parents to stretch an awkward smile on their face when a camera is placed in front of them. Consequently, I NEVER tell a child to “smile." Instead we do things that will get them to laugh - and that is when I start taking pictures.

Favorite object/person/location/event to photograph? This is an impossible question for me to answer. I deliberately shoot many different subjects of all ages and in all surroundings because I find beauty in it all. And one of the reasons I think I’ve been satisfied in my career for so long is because of the variety it allows. It can be portraits of babies one day and a fashion shoot for a new jewelry line the next day. 

From Alli's Sweet Light Studio

What advice do you have for someone interested in pursuing a similar career? You don’t have to go to college for photography, but it does put you on the fast track! By the time I was 22, I was shooting ads for Target and doing eight-page fashion spreads for magazines. I think it would have taken me much longer to do that without the jump-start that a commercial photography program gave me.

And advice I give often to my photography interns is to learn just as much about running your own business as you do about photography. You might be the most talented photographer out there, but if you can’t handle all the estimates and invoices, then you won’t work for long. (At least in the beginning- you can eventually hire that work out! )

What advice do you wish you could give your 20-year-old self? I turned down a five-day clothing catalog shoot when I first started because I had never done a production that large before and was scared that I’d screw it up - only later to realize that I could have hired a producer to take care of all the details I was scared of doing myself. I’m still kicking myself for that blunder.

From Alli's Sweet Light Studio

How do you define success? Money is certainly easy to quantify, but the joy I feel at doing my job well holds more lasting value for me and brings me a feeling of accomplishment and success.

Who has been your biggest influence, personally or professionally? My step mom. She’s inspired me both personally and professionally. She owned and operated a large publishing company as a single mom for many years before marrying my dad. I love that she was able to be so accomplished with her business and how wonderfully she raised my two step sisters. I want to be able to accomplish the same balance with my professional and personal family life.

What hobbies do you enjoy in your spare time? I get a huge amount of satisfaction from organizing things, cleaning things, redecorating… anything that makes my surroundings more beautiful is really fun for me to do. And I like to bake and decorate cakes. I put myself through college working as a cake decorator. This is a skill that still comes in handy.

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Number one on your bucket list: Travel to Japan.

Favorite ice cream flavor: Salted Caramel.

Thank you, Alli!