The Color Of Friendship

Ok, so first of all that title totally makes me think of some made for TV Disney movie :-) Holler at me if you know what I'm talking about!!!

This past weekend I FINALLY got to do a Color Run! If you are unfamiliar with this, a Color Run is basically a course, usually a 5k, in which runners are pelted with colored cornstarch. Sounds awesome, right? Well it was!

There were a couple of things that made it even better though.


First off, all the proceeds of the race went to a local organization called H.O.P.E which stands for Helping Other People Everyday. Their mission is to "Strive to be a supportive system in the community that values and supports families by filling basic needs and improving human life."  In short they provide food, furniture, clothing and help accessing resources to those in need throughout the community. For more info and to see how you can help check out their website: www.hopevermont.com.

Typically the cost of registration just goes to pay for the race itself and the companies that put it on, but his one had a purpose. The fact that my registration was going to go to help families in the community I live in was meaningful to me.

The other great part of the race was running with friends. I was desperately begging people to join me, as running a race like this is no fun if you do it alone.


Thankfully a friend of mine saw my SOS and we, along with another acquaintance of ours, partnered up for the run, which was awesome because I've realized in the last couple of years that I've lost a lot of the friends that I used to hang out with. Friends have either moved away, or because of where I live we've grown apart. I've found that since being married I need to make a more concentrated effort in this area to keep some of these relationships alive.

This is something that I want to work on. I want to practice being a better friend and make friendships more of a priority. So, this race was the perfect opportunity to reconnect with an old friend and get to know a new one better.

PS. If you ever get the chance to run in a Color Run, DO IT!

Transformation and Cute Workout Clothes!

Ok, so this is NOT a video blog today. I underestimated what it would take to get that all set up and running, so it's still a work in progress :-)

Until it is ready I thought I would catch you up on what I've been doing this week. I started 21 Day Fix Extreme on Monday along with the Countdown to Competition meal plan. For those of you who are unfamiliar with these terms just imagine a pretty hardcore 30 minute workout that includes weights and lots of jumping. Add to that a strict eating plan that really limits the food groups I can eat from, but still leaves you with TONS of food to consume.

So far it's going well! I'm on day three and I've completed my programs each day and can still walk ;-) The hubby and I are both doing the meal plan together and we haven't cheated yet. We took before photos so that I could see and share the results that I get doing this amazing program.

And I know you love what you can see of my awesome new outfit from Fabletics, so I thought I would introduce you to my new bff :-)

Fabletics is an online activewear company co-founded by Kate Hudson. After taking a quick quiz to see what kind of activities you're into, where you workout etc., Fabletics selects outfits they think you might like based on your answers. Your first outfit, which can include up to three pieces, can be as low as $25 if you sign up as a VIP member. Being a VIP member means that on the first of every month Fabletics selects new outfits for you that you then get to go look through (by the 5th) and select one or choose to skip a month.

Disclaimer: if you forget to log in and choose or skip they will charge you $50 which will be available for you to use toward an order in the future. After your initial purchase VIP members can find complete outfits for around $50 and up!

If you love them as much as I do you can invite you friends to purchase through a link that will give you credit for the referral, (like my personal link here: www.fabletics.com/invite/friendsofDani) and if they sign up and purchase you get a $10 credit. You can also earn 2 points per dollar spent and 20 points for doing a review of the items you receive, which takes about 30 seconds to complete. Points can be redeemed for sweet clothing and accessories!

So if you are looking for some cute new workout clothes that are good quality and don't break the bank, consider checking out Fabletics! Oh, and help a sister build a wardrobe of cute workout gear by purchasing through this link ;-)  www.fabletics.com/invite/friendsofDani

Believe In You!

I've been thinking about my blog and why it is so hard for me to write it. It's something I want to do, and yet I will put off writing a post, even when I know what I want to share.

I think that it's because I am a much better speaker than I am a writer. I tend to over analyze my writing and grammar instead of being able to focus in on what I want to share. Another thing I find is that when I start talking with someone about something I am passionate I get excited and the words just flow. I have trouble translating this to written word.

So, with that being said, I've decided that starting next week I'm going to try to turn this into a vlog (video blog). I have a tripod and adapter for my ipad on the way, which I'm super excited about, so that should make shooting videos a lot easier!

I'm also super excited that I will be making this transition as I start 21 Day Fix Extreme, with the Countdown to Competition eating plan. Just this week I've decided to do this program and plan, after seeing and being inspired by another coach's amazing results, and wanting to see what I'm capable of. I've always known I do best when I challenge myself, but I think lately I haven't been challenging myself enough.

That's about to change! At least for the next 21 days starting on Monday ;-) If you want to follow my journey you can subscribe to my blog... er, vlog, so that you get my posts through emails, or just check back here from time to time.

I will leave you with a final thought that has been going through my mind the last couple of days: "If you don't believe in yourself who will? For a time you can find others who believe in you and surround yourself with them, but there will come a time you need to step up and believe you can do whatever you put your mind to! Today, choose to believe in you!"

How to Crush Your Goals: And Enjoy the Journey Along the Way

Do you ever find yourself making goals you don't want to keep? Maybe you want the end result, but the journey there doesn't sound like fun, just a whole lot of work!

For example in the past I've had goals to stop eating all the cookies (Oh, wait... that goal was jut last week). Another goal I've made is to lose 10 pounds or fit into a size 2 again.. etc. None of these goals sound like fun things to work towards, and quite frankly they are goals that focus on all the wrong things.

Lately I've been thinking about transforming the kind of goals I want to set, thanks to a little video by Brendon Burchard. He challenged my thinking on how I create goals and it makes sense.

What if instead of setting my mind on not eating cookies, which inevitably will mean I will only think about eating cookies all the time, I set my mind on eating healthy and delicious food? That sounds like a whole lot more fun to me! Instead of having to avoid something I love my focus will have turned to being creative with trying new recipes and finding ways to make my favorite treats more healthy.

What if I then took that mindset and applied it to getting in shape. So, instead of a goal to lose 10 pounds, I make a goal to feel great, have more energy and feel like I can tackle anything that comes my way. Again, doesn't that sound a lot more doable, fun and motivating? Who wants to wake up and think, "Yes, I'm going to workout so I can one day lose 10 pounds!"? Not me! I would rather wake up and think, "Yes, I'm going to workout so that I feel great, have more energy and start my day in a way that I will be proud of myself!"

So, today I'm going to work on creating goals I actually want to achieve and not dread!

Bloom Where You're Planted (In Every Area of Life)

Running online fitness accountability groups can be hard, especially when you have repeat participants and you want to keep the material fresh each month.

So what do I do? I think about things I want to work on, what inspires me or what I've been learning recently, and I use those sources to give inspiration and content for new groups. I figure that there must be others out there that are like me so why not take the journey together?

For my next group I decided to call it "Bloom Where You're Planted." This came out of realizing that I need and want to make the most out of the life I have now. It's easy to wish I lived somewhere else, or made more money, or had a different life, but the reality is I am who I am, I live where I live (for now anyway), and my life can be AWESOME!


To me "blooming where you're planted" means to be present in the moment, be the best you, be the you that you want to be! A couple of books that have encouraged me in this area are The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst and Almost Amish by Nancy Sleeth. After reading these two books I was really inspired to make better decisions, recognize what is best for me and live more simply. As I embark to set out on putting some of these new ideas to practice I want to invite you to join me!

So, if you are looking to:

Lose some weight
Get in shape
Feel great
Simplify your life
Give your best
Have accountability
Be inspired
or find a community of awesome women

Consider joining us for this next challenge. You can leave a comment, find me on Facebook or email me if you are interested in joining. I would love to help others slow down, love life and love who they are!

Confessions of a Cookieholic

This winter was hard! It was LONG (still snowing), it was COLD, and it was full of change. It was also my first winter of attempting to eat healthy, and many times I failed BIG!

I find that I eat just for the sake of eating. Or I'm bored. Or it just looks good. Often times I'm not even hungry, but if I see it I want it.

So here I am leading online health and fitness challenge groups, and eating cookies every night... Which didn't really make me feel any better about it all.

I wanted to lead by example, to better my own health and feel great, but I felt stuck in a rut. Two weeks ago I told the hubby that I was going to start doing better. That I wanted to clean up my diet again, and that lasted about half a day. :-/

So, this past weekend, when I was scarfing down a cookie, or three, he reminded me of what I really wanted, which is to feel and look better! I told him I would officially start on Monday, which was yesterday, but that he had to help me. It's too easy to help myself to any of the five variety of cookies that Grandma has at any given moment, not to mention the peanut butter M&Ms and other sweet treats she has scattered about.

Yesterday was successful. When I got the sugary munchies at 8pm I had some peanuts instead. Then I headed upstairs and brushed my teeth. That did the trick!

It was just one day, but that one day reminded me that I CAN do this! It is a battle of the mind that I can win if I choose to believe and think on truth. I also began to feel the guilt of being a fitness coach indulging in way too many treats lift off my shoulders!

How can I inspire others to live a healthy life if I'm not??

Being a coach reminds me to stick to the path I set out on and bring as many others along for the journey as I can. It's not all about being a size 2 and looking hot in a bikini, but it's about transforming peoples lives physically, mentally and emotionally. I want to support and empower women to be confident, healthy, feel good, and be able to live the life they want to live.

And that is why I'm keeping my hand out of the cookie jar today!

Beachbody Isn't Just A Business Anymore

I love the idea of blogging, but apparently I don't actually love blogging... Or at least that's what it looks like :-)

I think my lack of posts is because I was trying to write content I thought people would want to read, instead of just sharing my journey and using this as a journal. So, let's see if a journal is a little more successful!

In March I had the AMAZING opportunity to go to Clearwater, Florida for a retreat with the coaches on the Moxie Crew. I was super excited to finally meet these women, who previously I had only known through Facebook. Plus my heart needed the warmth, the friendship of other women, and a reminder of why I love Beachbody.

Here's a few photos from the weekend and some of my favorite memories!

The two women in the photo above were my roommates! We had a bunch of fun and I'm so glad we ended up together. The three of us are all in very different places in life—engaged and working full-time, married and working part-time, married and staying home with the kiddos—BUT what we had in common was a love for people, a joy for inspiring others in their health and fitness journeys, and creating freedom for ourselves. 

This is Dory, a friend of mine from back in 2002 when we worked at summer camp together. We hadn't seen each other in 10 years before the retreat. We reconnected when I saw Dory sharing her journey with Beachbody on Facebook, and it was because of seeing her talk about PiYo that I joined her challenge group. Three weeks into that group I decided to become a coach as well so I could help others get great results like I did. Dory is now a full-time coach with Beachbody in order to be able to stay home with her two handsome boys—who, by the way, stole my heart while I visited Dory in Florida.

In the coaching world I like to call Dory my "mom" and Laura my "grandma" as those are their respective positions in my life. Laura is an AMAZING leader who is passionate about what she does and creating opportunities for others. She doesn't keep all her amazing ideas and training groups to herself, but instead uses it to empower the entire Moxie Crew family. Laura is a top 50 coach out of more than 270,000, earning a six figure income. She even retired her husband last fall. She is the picture of creating freedom through this business for your family!

My favorite part of the weekend was seeing how amazing these women truly are. They don't post one thing on Facebook, when their reality is another thing altogether. They are the real deal! They are passionate about helping people. They love Jesus. They love their families and want to give them the best!

Here is the whole team at our sunset picnic. They are my new sisters, women who are inspiring, uplifting, and willing to support one another 100%.

I went to the retreat to get inspiration and ideas for building my business. I left with a realization that they have become an extended family to me. Who doesn't want a bunch of women to hang out with that have similar goals and dreams, who are fun to be around, and strive to be the best they can be?!

That's what I love about my team! This isn't just a business, it's about being part of something bigger and having some of your best friends along for the ride. If you are looking for a place to belong or to be part of something bigger consider joining my team. You can email me at the top of the page!