The Rosa Chronicles: The Ups, the Downs, and the Wardrobe Changes

So here I am today, on Day 9 of my 30 for 30 challenge. I can't believe that it has already been that long! And yet, there are still 21 days to go.  All in all, it has been good. Initially I thought that I was going to be blogging each day, but frankly, after working out I am exhausted and only want to take a bath and go to sleep. So I think I will be blogging on a weekly basis instead. Here's a summary report for days 2 through 8. "Don't wish it were easier. Wish you were better." - Fitness Inspiration for Women on Facebook - February 21, 2013 Progress, one day at a time I have to say that this is the most committed I have been to a workout regimen in the last couple of months. I am actually looking forward to working out every day. Before the challenge, I fantasized about working out, and then a "reason" would come up and I would not do it. But now, since I made this commitment, I am excited about doing it every day, and it helps a lot when I se

We made it public yesterday. My sister, María Elena Martínez, and I decided to do a "30 for 30" challenge. We made a personal and public commitment of exercising at least 30 minutes per day for the next 30 days. No excuses, no "ifs or buts." We will be checking on each other every other day to assess progress, and give encouragement. And I told her that I would be blogging about it too, as another way to increase our accountability. The stage has been set. Day 1 I had not worked out for about a week, and I was a bit intimidated by going back to it. As I was putting on my workout clothes, though, I was happy to see that they fit loosely (well, let me not exaggerate...not loosely, but not as tight as before). So that gave me a boost of confidence to get going. Plus I had downloaded a couple of routines from Shape magazine to work on "problem areas" (read, the whole body at this point). I spent a good amount of time looking at the videos and was pretty com

Today was one of those days for me, the ones that you wish you could have stayed home all day, preferably in bed, not doing much of anything. But it was not meant to be. I had to finish payroll, meet to discuss 4 pending proposals, and finish getting ready for tomorrow's site visit. I had to go to work. And to make things work, the window replacement project at work has not been finished, so my office is a total mess, with my plants all over the place, my picture frames in little piles, and the whole office in total disarray. It was definitely not a good start to the day. By the time it was 5:00 p.m., and despite a delicious cup of cuban coffee, I was crushed. My energy was very low, and my emotions were threatening to betray me. Just a minor thing would have caused me to burst into tears. But there was still a fragment of sanity in me, and I came home determined to regain my balance. I lit up candles the minute I got in, and put a favorite CD on. Then I went to the kitchen and s

You know that feeling of trying on a new piece of clothing, expecting the worse, and then being pleasantly surprised? Well, yeah, it happened to me. One of the first signs of the changes happening to my body. Or better put, of the changes I am creating for my body. And I am loving it. On February 2nd, it was the Thodos Dance Chicago  "21 Club" Gala, and since my daughter Ileana is a dancer with the company's Youth Ensemble, we went to the event. It was a black and white cocktail event, and I wanted to wear something new and nice. So there I go shopping with my ever-supporting and patient husband, who helped me select a good amount of dresses to try on. I was prepared for the worst; I generally come out frustrated when things are too tight (yes, I do buy them my size, and still...), or just don't look altogether. But, oh, what a pleasant surprise when I tried on dress after dress and most of them looked really good! At the end of the try-on session, I had 4 dresses