Armageddon Postponed

In light of the recent "end of the world" hoopla, it reminded me of an evening last month where Kris called for Ethan and I to see what was happening with the sky. According to all of the FB posts that night, we weren't the only ones who seemed to be mesmerized with what was happening to the clouds. It was gorgeous to say the very least and we just couldn't take our eyes away from the clouds' amazing transformation. I wanted to make all of these black and white, but didn't want to take away from the brilliant colors, so I left all but one, as is. 

If and when the world does end some day and I'm alive to see it, I wouldn't mind it to look like this . . .

and I'd want these two beside me.

Best,

Kelley

Camp Gladiator - Week 4: Metabolic Conditioning

Week 4 is what I've been working up to and it's what I've been waiting for.

Whew! Monday's workout with Ali was pretty intense. I don't know if it was because my body wasn't yet back to being 100% since I was sick the previous week, but by the end I got dizzy and light-headed and almost passed out. That's never happened to me before.

I went to my softball game on Tuesday night as opposed to CG and (un)fortunately my good friend, LeighAnn brought a little treat for us. Shiner's new Ruby Redbird is THE perfect Summer beer if you haven't tried it yet, what are you waiting for?!

 

Here's LeighAnn, doesn't she look like she'd be a bad influence? It's all her fault! ;) 

I know, I know drinking beer during our softball game was probably not the best decision, but honestly, I didn't even think twice about it and enjoyed every minute of Tuesday night, thanks LeighAnn! Then came Wednesday's boot camp . . .

I will say that Wednesday was a tad bit better than Monday's camp, but only because I didn't almost pass out this time. In true Ali fashion, she pushed us beyond our limits and made us sweat our little hearts out. There was a CG employee there taking pictures of us and I truly hope to God that they never resurface in any public venue - I mean there was nothing pretty about me that night! I did have a great time with my new found friend, Lindsey. She makes me laugh and pushes me, whether she realizes it or not.

Thursday . . . well, Thursday I opted out of attending CG, so that I could have a date night with my husband at Gibson. We ate, drank and had such a great time just talking - what we do best. ;) Although I tried hard to sell him on giving CG a whirl, he remains content in going his own way in terms of working out. I respect him for that. Here he is, I sure do like him a whole lot.

Friday was tough, but probably more so because of Thursday night's indulgences. For a mili-second I considered skipping, but couldn't because my friend Marty was meeting me, so that he could test drive the camp before committing. Marty is super athletic and extremely competitive, so I knew that CG would be a perfect fit for him. I was a little worried about him, since in January he donated one of his kidneys to his Dad, but he assured me that he was ready to see what CG was all about. He did phenomenal and will be joining next month! Yay, I get a $25 credit for recruiting him, thanks Marty!(By the way, if you are not already a registered organ/eye/tissue donor, please consider the possibility of registering to become one, here. This decision can save up to eight lives and enhance another 50 through tissue donation. I have a dear friend whose life was saved because someone made this selfless decision to become a donor. Please consider how many lives you could save.)

Okay, I'm off my soap box now, my apologies.

Saturday was Gladiator Games, which consisted of a 5K and various fitness stations and obstacle course. I didn't really know anyone else who was going, but I figured it would be a great way to burn a ton of calories. Kris was sweet and went with me, although I know he would have rather slept in. My mom also surprised me, so it was fun getting to hang out with them while I waited for my group to attempt the obstacle course. I am still sore from the race and the course, but had such a great time and will definitely attend the next one.

That evening Kris and I, along with Trisha treated all of our moms to a late Mother's Day gift; in the form of Ryan Bingham. If you know me at all, then you are well aware of my love affair with this man. I am O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D with him big time and wouldn't you know it, so are our moms. My mom and my sister, Katie were the ones who discovered him years ago in Luckenbach, TX - long before he won an Oscar and became a mega-star for his song, The Weary Kind from the movie Crazy Heart.  Here's Kris and I on our way to Stubb's. I overheard these guys calling me "Where's Waldo" - nice.

I'm sure you're all wondering if I'm closer to my goal weight yet and what changes I've seen happening since I started CG four weeks ago. Although I am only 5 lbs. lighter (probably LeighAnn's fault for that beer), I feel leaner and better than I have in a long time. My "hate" handles are dwindling by the week and my jeans just aren't so snug anymore; there's actually muscle definition in my arms, abs and legs. I have a ton of energy and am just in an all around better place in my life. I am one happy Gladiator! I also signed up for six more months of camp, so that I could get the consecutive camper rate of $69 per month. It's one hell of a deal if I do say so myself!

I am so excited of what's to come and can't wait to see what I'll feel and look like by week 8, it can only get better from here. If you're interested in giving CG a try, please send me a message and I will let you know about the free camps their offering this week, since it's our "off" week. More CG updates to come . . .

Best,
Kelley

Longing for . . .

a road trip with the windows down and the music turned up.

With this as my view . . .

as well as these, along the way . . .

 

with lots of these . . .

Happy weekend, dear friends. :)

Until then,
Kelley

The Conoley Family | Expecting | Dallas Photographer

I recently had the honor of taking my cousin Kenny and his wife, Megan's maternity pictures with their two kids, Blake and Jake. Kenny and Megan are such wonderful and fun-loving parents who immediately fell in love with one another . . . and then a few years later, fell in love with parenthood. Their house is jam packed with of love and laughter and I can't wait to meet their new addition, Pepper Jane Conoley. Pepper was born (8 lbs, 2 oz) on May 11, 2011 and I couldn't be more excited for them and their growing family. Congratulations to the Conoley's and thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your amazing journey together. Enjoy!

 

Much love, 

kelley

Camp Gladiator - Week 3: Ag{ill}ity

After last weekend's cheat with Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom, I didn't anticipate losing any weight or let alone noticing any changes in my body. Turns out, I'm pleased to report that I have started to notice those changes and so has Kris. ;) Oh the feeling of pulling on those jeans that were a little too snug two weeks prior to find that I'll need a belt to hold them up in Week 3 of Camp Gladiator! There really is no better feeling . . . well, winning the lottery would probably feel better, now that I think about it. Still, it's important for me to appreciate the way my jeans fit a little bit better, rather than focusing on some stupid fluctuating number on the scale. It can drive any girl insane.

This week was an important one for me, because I was finally passed that dreaded two week marker where in the past I inevitability gave in to my temptations to be lazy and just go home after work and well . . . eat. Especially on Mondays. The funny thing was that I didn't even have that thought on Monday to not go to CG. Mondays are hard. They're hard because no one likes them, they're hard because it reminds you that your weekend is over and the weekend to come is oh-so-far away. They're hard to even get through mentally, without putting your body through pain and suffering out in the heat. I found it to be therapeutic in the end. I went home . . . happy. I came home to a happy man, who was very happy (to be done with math forever) and happy that I was going to make his infamous tortilla soup on a Monday night. We normally would just eat frozen pizza, because we're too beat from having the "case of the Mundays" to make a real meal. AND, to top it all off, I came home to this little treat in the mail from CG:

Apparently they were inspired by my first CG blog post. :)

Five days a week has been my goal all along. I used to work out five days a week in high school and could still eat french fries and ranch for lunch (I know, sick) and still have a rockin' body. I am aware that my metabolism has changed with age, especially now that I'm 30 and even if I worked out twice a day five days a week, I still couldn't eat french fries and ranch for lunch and still have a rockin' bod (I know, sad). That's just it, I decided to dumb it down as much as possible for myself. Move more and try to eat less (and better). It's working. It's actually working. I definitely intend on taking Jeff up on his offer to help with my nutritional choices, but I wanted to concentrate first and foremost on creating this habit of moving more, ie: five days a week.  A girl can only handle so many changes at once.

The only hitch in my plan was that I caught a virus that was going around on Tuesday and was in bed for two days. I didn't make it back to CG until Friday morning, which is the hardest workout of the week. I did it because an old friend wanted to try it and I didn't want to let him down by not showing up; I also didn't want to let myself down. I'm glad I made it and I'm looking forward to my five days of camp this week, as well as the Gladiator Games on Saturday. That's the difference - in the past I would have let this hiccup end all motivation and let it defeat me. Not this time, I can't wait for Monday's workout. I'm obsessed, I know. :)

Love,
Kelley

He reminds me . . .

I took this during SXSW at Auditorium Shores in March of 2010. I have no idea what drew me to this man in the crowd, but I knew I had to take a picture of him and capture how I saw him that drizzly, cold day. This is a prime example of how one can feel alone, even amongst a sea of people.

He reminds me . . . of the rain.

He reminds me to be thankful for the rain we're experiencing today.

He reminds me to count my blessings every single day.

He reminds me to be kind to others, because I have no idea what inner battles they may be struggling with.

He reminds me to be content and live for today.

He reminds me to make happy happen in my life.

He reminds me to go after my dreams.

He reminds me that I am not alone.

He reminds me to be grateful for that.

He reminds me . . . 

Camp Gladiator - Week 2: FUNctionality

I was in awe of the amount of positive feedback I received from my first post about Camp Gladiator. You guys didn't have to leave comments or send me personal messages of your support, but you did and I love you for it. Turns out the blog inspired my cousin Dan and his soon-to-be wife to join Camp Gladiator in Dallas! Ali and Jeff were so responsive to my goals and their encouraging messages helped me to get through week 2 of camp. I will admit that Wednesday was the hardest day for me . . . not so much physically, but it was the mental part that was bringing me down. I left camp feeling defeated and was just in a F-U-N-K. Would you believe the Glee episode that I just so happen to watch that evening was the F-U-N-K episode?! Ironic and very much needed. Ladies, only you will understand what truly brought on this funktified feeling, so I'll just leave it at that.

Anyway, I persevered and pushed through the pain and still managed to attend another five classes, two concerts (Arcade Fire/Brett Dennan & Dawes) and have a little FUN in-between.

 Arcade Fire at The Backyard

Me and Tyree$ha (Trisha)

Chris, Kris, Russ at Arcade Fire

 Dawes at La Zona Rosa

That's what I wanted to touch on most in this post. I am still living my life just as I would normally be doing, minus the plethora of margaritas at Matt's El Rancho that I so desperately wanted to partake in on Cinco de Mayo - instead, it was Lime Cactus flavored Michelob Ultra for me. 95 calories I can handle, the calories in a jumbo sized margarita, I could not. Not after how hard I pushed myself.

So, Wednesday's F-U-N-K caused a lot of those negative thoughts to seep back into my mind, clouding my judgment and making me feel as though my goals are possibly too big and too far away for me to ever achieve. I went home that evening after camp feeling defeated and down. It wasn't until Ali sent me a message that next morning that renewed my dedication and motivation. I cannot begin to tell you how great it feels to know that she's there rooting me on, promising that she and Jeff WILL get me to my goals if I choose to just show up and push myself. So, that's exactly what I did this past week.

Believe it or not, I laughed a lot at Jeff's jokes, although they're pretty bad, I find him very funny! That's the point, this week, although was tough, it was F-U-N and it got me out of my F-U-N-K. Ali surprised us on Friday morning after camp with a My Fit Foods breakfast and it was just what I needed after the brutality that she put me through. ;) They had another surprise for us after Saturday's camp; a rep from Kind Bars showed up and passed out free bars. I'm hooked on them already, they're all natural and delicious! CG is just too good to us.

Saturday, I spent the day with my mom and my sister, Katie. We hung out on South Congress, then went to Mean Eyed Cat for a few beers - it was so much fun to just relax and catch up with them. I have the best mom and sisters in the whole world.

Mean Eyed Cat

Me and my amazing Mom, Jane

Then I came home to these . . .

A (step)Mother's Day surprise from Kris ;)

So, here's to still living life, working out hard and having a little fun in-between. Okay, okay, I did cheat and had Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom from Chuy's on Saturday night; I'm not going to lie it was delicious and soooooo worth it. That's what I'll be trying to work off in this week's workout.

On to Week 3 of CG . . . 

Best wishes,

Kelley

Camp Gladiator - Week 1: Endurance

So, I happened upon Camp Gladiator a couple of weeks ago, thanks to Groupon. I had $70 of birthday money left over and wanted to get myself something really good - not as in buying myself a pair of much-coveted wedges, but instead doing something healthy for myself. After all, I'm officially 30 and they do say that it's harder to shed the lbs. once you've hit that 30 year marker. Awesome.

My most recent wake-up call was when a co-worker of mine saw a picture of me and my handsome husband on our honeymoon and asked who the couple was in the picture. It was devastating that I was that unrecognizable to him in that damn picture. It frankly pissed me off, but it woke me up to maybe how much I have changed physically since our honeymoon almost three years ago. I don't want to be the girl who "let herself go" after she got married. Call me vain, but it's the God's honest truth.

So, I decided to take a chance on Camp Gladiator. I didn't tell anyone, not even Kris until last Monday, right before my first boot camp class and bravely drove myself a mile from the house (pathetic) to attend my first CG boot camp.
 
From the first night of class, I was hooked.Yes, it's only been a week, but I went to boot camp 5 out of the 7 days last week and even went on Saturday if that tells you anything. That first night, this girl next to me said, "It really makes me feel better to know that you're skinny and you're still struggling as much as I am". I had never met her, nor do I remember her name, but because of her statement, I realized how messed up in the head I had gotten about my body image. I laughed off her comment as I do with all compliments and didn't know how to quite handle it, but it brought tears to my eyes as I was driving home that evening. She'll never know how much that meant to me. It reminded me that we all have these warped views in our mind of how we think we look and how others may actually see us.

Tonight, the new campers were asked to email our trainers why we joined Camp Gladiator, so that they could really get to know us and help us with our personal goals. They didn't have to do this, but they did and this is why I will keep coming back and frankly, why I'm already so hooked.

The Reasons I Joined Camp Gladiator
1. To reach my goal weight of 125 lbs. (that's 24.5 more lbs. to go - you do the math)
2. To finally rid myself of my love handles (they really should be called "hate" handles)
3. To not dread trying on a bathing suit in that three-way mirror at Target
4. To finally start wearing shorts in the Summer again
5. To be as strong and tone as I was in high school and college
6. To get my daily dose of much needed endorphins
7. To have a sense of  camaraderie and support
8. To just feel comfortable in my own skin again

Top 5 Reasons I Heart Camp Gladiator
1. The Trainers - So, I have secretly always wanted to be a part of The Biggest Loser and mainly because I have always wondered what it would be like to have my very own Bob and Jillian. In some way I found them in Jeff and Ali. I don't know about you, but I've seen some trainers at the gym who I wouldn't want to look like in the least and I want to look like the CG trainers. I want to thank them for making me feel so welcome, for making me laugh while they murder me, and for helping me to feel as though I belong to a team again. They've made me realize that if I don't push my body beyond what I believe it to be capable of, then it will never change. Never.

2. The Other Campers - I'm relieved that there are various sizes and shapes at CG. I don't feel like I'm the only one trying to un-hitch this rather large trailer on my backside. I also don't feel like anyone is judging me either; everyone is way too busy trying to keep up rather than mock me for my lack of ability to do a real push-up. The trainers also encourage us to pair up with people who we don't know, so I've met a new person at every class and liked each one of them . . . a lot. Plus, there are campers who have been going for the past year and who are freakishly strong. I was paired up with this chick on Saturday and by the looks of her, you wouldn't guess that she was going to give me a run for my money and she blew me out of the water. I want to be that strong.

3. The Various Times and Locations - This leaves me with absolutely no excuse as to why I don't have the "time" to go to camp. They give you so many options of locations and times and actually encourage you to check out different trainers; so you don't feel like you're cheating on them. Hence, why I have always avoided a personal trainer. Jeez, I'm already in one committed relationship, I don't need that kind of pressure!

4. The Variety and Games - Every single camp is different from the one before, so you have no idea what to even dread for the next day. I find myself looking forward to it, even on a Monday evening in the oh-so-drizzly, cold and disgusting weather that we were experiencing in Austin yesterday.  The trainers seriously dream up the craziest of craze when it comes to the games that we do during camp. Ali Christoph came up with this card game, which absolutely killed me, but it distracted me so much mentally from the physical aspect, that before I knew it, it was over. I actually had FUN working out. Weird.

5. The Results - No, I haven't yet shed all 24.5 lbs. that I swear to you right now I will lose, but I feel stronger, healthier, and happier since starting one week ago today. I have lost 3.5 lbs. in a week, which for me is really good. The CG trainers stress to go at your own pace and to push yourself mentally and physically - that it's the only way that you will end up seeing results. Call me crazy, but I really believe them. They're turning me into a believer with each class and so are the other campers who I dream I'll look like one day. 

Although I do realize that this is in fact supposed to be a "picture blog" I vow to you now that I will post my before (ghastly) and after (smokin' hot) pics once I have reached my goal weight/physique. It may be a year from now, but I'm actually okay with that. I want to be that person a year from now who is encouraging others that it can be done - that they are capable of doing it on their own . . . with a little help from Camp Gladiator of course. ;)

I also promise that I was in no way coerced to write this blog, but rather I just wanted to spread the CG love and hopefully inspire someone else out there to give it a go. If you do decide to join, please enter my email address as your friend referral, so that I can get a $25 credit to join for next month's camp (HEY! It's worth a shot, my husband is a full-time student after all!). No really, use my email: kelley.denby@gmail.com Ha! ;)

Wish me luck for Week 2!

Much love,
Kelley

kelley denby photography