About

I have been blogging for the last 3 years purely to keep family and friends updated on what my family is up too. Since having a baby, I started to evaluate my life and have attributed my happiness as a new mom to all the aspects that I make important on this blog. My daughter and my husband are the basis to my happiness, but keeping health, fitness and creativity strong in my life has helped my individual self grow and flourish, which in turn makes me a better wife and mother.

I grew up playing many sports. I was a team athlete playing basketball and volleyball throughout middle school and high school, but I also particapated in many individual sports; running (triathlons and marathons, skiing (downhill, nordic and water), snowboarding, mountain and road biking and many others along the way. I started personal training when I was 24 years old because I wanted to help others gain a lifestyle that was active and healthy. I started at a large chain gym, but quickly moved to a smaller local gym where I could focus on my clients at a more personal level. I also started personal training at my clients homes, because I felt this was a great way to teach them exercise doesn't have to be in a gym. Personally I am not a big fan of gyms, I think you can get just as good of a workout at home or outdoors, without all the weights that you find at the gym. Your own body weight does wonders for you body.

My mother was very influential in my eating habits. She has always been a healthy eater. She is the ultimate grazer, meaning she snacks a lot, but she usually snacks on healthy treats. This taught me to eat more smaller meals throughout the day instead of less larger ones. She is an amazing cook and I learned many recipes from her. My motto with eating is everything in moderation. I try not to deprive myself of the wonderful things in life (chocolate), but I do eat them sparingly. It helps with over indulgences and satiety. Many of the recipes I use are easy. Having a young family requires me to become very proficient in my processes and cooking is one of them. I enjoy cooking and eating healthy, but I don't want to spend all day making one meal when there are so many others things I could be doing.

My husband and I married in January of 2012 and became pregnant two weeks later. I became a mother in mid November of 2012 to a very beautiful little girl, McKinley. We have two blue heeler dogs (one is almost 8 and the other turned one in November.) Having high energy dogs and a newborn poses many challenges. I am constantly figuring ways to get out of the house to exercise myself and the dogs (with the baby) and during the winter it is not easy. Many exercises I do involve this scenario. It is hard, but also rewarding, because I get to be outdoors and I am spending time with my family.

I added the Create page to the blog, because I love to do projects around the house. Currently we are building our first house. It is a track home, so I intend to spend what down time I have making it our own. I have always been very handy (thanks Dad) and I feel using the right side of the brain with creativity is so important to a balanced life.

I hope you enjoy the blog. Please post comments or questions and I will respond as soon as I can.

Sincerely,

Erin