Sipping down some morning coffee and taking a moment to reflect in what an INCREDIBLE 2015 I had. I'm SO lucky to have been able to experience so many exciting and new things. The earlier part of the year my mom and I flew to Hawaii to welcome my sister and her fiance back home to the US, it was a wonderful "meeting point" in the Pacific Ocean that we'll treasure for years to come. The trip was filled with early morning sunrises, family talk, hiking, photography, meditation and delicious food (I love me some fresh ceviche!)
SPRING
Solo road tripping through the mountains. My radio didn't work so nearly 3 hours were spent being present and soaking in the view just before taking a flight to Chicago.
OUR DATE WITH DESTINY
After all the hard work that Drew had been putting into his music career the Universe threw him a once in a lifetime gig - his band, The Morning Kings head lined at Soldier Field in Chicago! Standing in the crowd, you could feel the electricity from the band, the passion behind their work, the fans dancing. The whole event was absolutely everything they could have wished for.
I on the other hand, I had a 3 hours glimpse into the incredible world of having a Media / All Access pass to photograph the band and network my heart out to everyone. I stocked up on personal business cards prior to the show and handed them out to anyone I spoke with. To this day, the connections made in Chicago feel like god-sent individuals that I know I can reach out to at any given time. {THANK YOU Universe, lets do that again!}
SUMMER
Summer was my hardest weight loss push before our wedding, I had been on a clean eating and fitness routine that quickly came to a hult. I hit a major plateau that I couldn't bust through. I tried everything from two juice cleanses, longer work outs, more salads and nothing was happening. The weight stuck. The more I couldn't lose the weight, the more stressed I would get. How will I fit into my dress - which mind you, was already purchased and was tight when I got it. I did what many brides do, get a small size and proudly tell yourself, "I'm GOING to lose 10 pounds!"
I saw a good friend of mine talking about the 21 Day Fix and the benefits she was receiving after trying shakeology. I thought to myself, why not? She's lost a ton of baby weight which im sure is much hard than what I'm going though! I gave it a shot and ordered the kit.
The first week I lost 3 pounds and after the full 21 days, I lost 11 total pounds. I now proudly fit into my wedding dress....and bonus, I felt SO good in my OWN skin! I even had to alter my dress - brought in IN two inches around my thighs!
When friends, family and co-workers noticed the difference, I couldn't help but talk about the successes of the program I had just experienced. I began researching more about the company and after a couple meetings with my friend who signed me up, I then became a health and wellness coach.
Coaching promptly started towards the end of July and right off the bat over 50 women joined my little private community. I take such PRIDE in being able to lead a team that I now call, The Motivated Mavens. We share our workouts with each other, clean eating recipes and tips for staying on track. Over the holiday season is when this group truly made me stay on point - being a coach, I cannot slack as I know that when I do, my team will.
FALL
Oh, If I could replay Fall I would in a heart-beat! Drew and I completed a year old journey with the church through our martial counseling classes. Now, before I say this is something that I wanted to do -- is a FAR cry from the truth. I went into our first class with such a wall up, I didn't want to open up to a complete stranger about my relationship with Drew, let alone be told how to think when it comes to religion. I honest, I begged Drew to somehow get out of doing this, I was beyond unfortable. He said to me, "Lets just see how the first class goes and if you're still feeling this way, we'll look at alternatives" We went, I built my wall before entering through the front door, I listened more than spoke and towards the end of the class, bursts into tears. The counselor broke down the wall and I let it happen. I knew that in order to be the best wife for Drew, I needed to open up. And from then on, we picked up an entire year of classes, we added on two at the end because we simply loved what we were getting out of it! I saw Drew completely vulnerable (unlike anything I had witnessed up until this point) and within myself, a transition to a state that the two of us could come together like never before in our 5 years of dating.
Moral of the story, there's always going to be time to work on us to improve and break down walls when they start to rise. It's a journey that we so proudly get to take together.
WEDDING + RECEPTION
October 22, we said "I do" in front of immediate family. Toasted this new life at a formal dinner which just so happened to be the same restaurant Drew took me on our first anniversary. We rented out the basement wine cellar and LOVE filled the room! Family is our rock and to have this time with them in celebration made both of ours hearts full.
October 23, was our friends and family reception #BarbesPalooza. We rented out a huge barn in Jordan, MN. We had so much help from family and friends that the place came together in a matter hours! It was everything we could have hoped for and MORE!
We're husband and wife, ready to take on this world together!
MINI MOON
October 24 we took the long drive up to the North Shore of Minnesota to relax and come back to the beautiful place that Drew purposed - right down there on the water. He had built a bonfire and got down on one knee. Coming full circle to where it all began was a beautiful reminder of how far we've come.
MUSIC
Soon after returning home and the planning of the wedding behind us, Drew took to the studio to begin recording their new album. In true recording tradition, I swung by their first night to deliver chili so the boys can keep their energy high without having to worry about food. I also got to listen to the first couple tracks - hang on tight, this is the best work i've heard these guys complete to date! 2016 is going to be one hell of a ride.
DIGGING DEEP
My work picked up as we now transition to our busy season but my love for blogging, photography, fitness and meditation all came barreling in after 5pm. Many nights were spent working on my "side projects" which are now feeling like full time, which I couldn't be happier! Midnight was often my time to crawl into bed and dream about what tomorrow will bring. I dedicate my evenings and weekends to my Motivated Mavens community, building a tribe of empowering women and soul searchers for their call to wellness.
HONEYMOON
11 days of pure bliss. Island hopping, incredible conversations with Drew, timelines created for goals together and individually and a true step back from our 9-5 jobs and side jobs. I took about 3 days to really let vacation sink in. Both of us so used to putting in extra hours each day that unplugging felt strange and unsettling. But in order to truly relax, we needed to let go of booking gigs, blog posts, connecting with coaches on my team, reading emails.... it all had to stop for this precious time.
We got to know the staff, learning about their lives and meeting with new people from around the globe. Often asking, "What's your story" over, "what do you do?" Your work doesn't define you, nor should it unless it's your dream to be doing that. Who ARE you as a person, what makes you happy, what do you enjoy doing? It's interesting to see the faces when you ask probing questions like this, but it should be part of our connection to others otherwise the conversations never really get that deep.
We took a day to kayak (while I tried to flip our kayak numerous times - Drew hated, ha!) Swam and snorkeled along the worlds second largest reef. Sipped tequila on an uninhabited island and spoke about the storm rolling in. Saw little fish, BIG fish, lizards and loads of crabs! Watched every sunset from our balcony. Slept under the stars on our roof top bed. Made wishes on over 50 falling stars (we got lucky with a metro shower when we were there).
Left with a tank full of love and ready for the new year, together as husband and wife.
Things to look out for in 2016: Youtube channel, Drew's album release, travel to the Caribbean, Instagram inspiration +The Bohemian Blonde, a new self discovery component for fearless leaders to join me. I'm letting all negative thoughts go and opening up to what the Universe has in store. There's no better time than the present and we're not getting any younger, it's now or never to make a change and start living the dream that it's knocking on the door.
I'm ready! We're Ready! Lets DO this!
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