Can't Stop the Feeling: Off-Beat ZUMBA Instructor Leads Warm-Up

This Saturday as I departed Hersheypark Stadium, I walked to my car with my head hanging low. I joked to my partner-in-crime, Shawna Strine, about how the headlines would read "Off-Beat ZUMBA Instructor Leads Warm-Up at GOTR 5K." 

This Saturday I had one of those experiences that left me humbled, and I thought that others might find solace in my missteps - possibly in that "misery loves company" kind of way...

Or perhaps it's just good to know that life isn't perfect, and there is reason to celebrate the journey anyway! 

First, let me tell you a little about GOTR... 
Girls on the Run (GOTR) is a national nonprofit dedicated to, "creating a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams." This organization works to train young girls to run their first 5K race - all while sharing positive, self-esteem building messages! Girls on the Run aims to show these young girls that they truly are ROCKSTARS (certainly a mission that I can stand behind)! FYI... The organization is also responsible for the largest 5k series IN THE COUNTRY!

Pretty impressive, right? That's why for the past few years we have been proud to fundraise for this organization while training for distance runs through their Solemates program!

On to the 5K... 
When they needed someone to lead a short warm-up before their spring 5K, they looked right at their own volunteers... And our trio of licensed ZUMBA instructors was quickly formed: Shawna Strine, Dawn Clouse, and myself (fyi... Both Dawn and Shawna have also volunteered as Coaches)!

The Vision... 
I'm not going to lie. The thought of teaching ZUMBA on that massive stage was so exciting! This was a real-deal, professional, enormous, formidable, beautiful STAGE!! And we were going to get to teach on it!!!

In my visions, we were perfectly choreographed. I was able to balance teaching and crowd engagement with the utmost skill (making my Zumba Pro Skills Instructor, Steve Boedt, so very proud)! We got those girls PUMPED for their very first 5K!!

What actually happened was slightly different. 

The Reality... 
We waited backstage as they brought our awesome backup dancers on the stage - participants in the GOTR Heart and Sole program (Just another reason why this was going to be the coolest experience EVER)! We took the floor excitedly when we were motioned to enter.

Then it happened. The music came on, but there was one small problem... We couldn't hear it. At all.

So what do Zumba instructors do when they have NO CLUE what to do? Of course they smile and start dancing!!! For the next four minutes (possibly the longest four minutes of my life), the three of us rotated between super simple moves, smiled, clapped, and prayed that every so often we would hit the beat (we still haven't confirmed that we ever did).

The Take-Away... 
Ok, so the warm-up tanked. But we kept dancing - just like the girls that participate in the GOTR program. Some of those girls were about to begin a race they weren't sure they could finish. They had doubts. They had insecurities. But in the end, they pushed through it.

Over 2500 girls, coaches, buddies, and community members crossed the finish line at the Capital Area Girls on the Run Spring 5K!!

Things don't always turn out how we planned. But that doesn't mean we can't celebrate being there in the first place! No matter how many beats we hit in the warm-up/where we placed in the race/etc., we all kept dancing! The fact that we got to stand on that stage and show our support for those girls is incredible (and certainly an experience we will remember for a long time to come)!

"...Ain't nobody leaving soon, so keep dancing." Justin Timberlake, CAN'T STOP THE FEELING!

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Help Girls on the Run to show young girls that they are SUPERSTARS! Become a Solemate, Volunteer to coach, or make a donation. 

#gotr5k #finishstrong #girlsrule #zinlife #zumbalove #cantstopthefeeling 

Playing the #Minsgame: My First Month as a Minimalist

“Love people, use things. The opposite doesn’t work.” 

― Joshua Fields Millburn, Everything That Remains: A Memoir by The Minimalists

For the past month, I've been embracing a life with less.

It started with a documentary, randomly discovered when scrolling through Netflix - Minimalism, the story of two 20-something corporate execs  -Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus (a.k.a. The Minimalists) - who found happiness when they dumped their stuff and started living life with intention. (I actually got to meet these super inspiring guys just a few weeks ago, but that is a story for another post!) 

Flash forward to a Facebook post from my friend and amazing photographer, Deb Schell, asking if anyone wanted to join her in something Joshua and Ryan call the #minsgame.

#Minsgame: Here's the deal.. April 1 - purge one item, April 2 - purge two items, April 3 - purge three items... April 30 - purge 30 ITEMS!! At the end of the month, you've dumped 465 unneeded items from your home!

Deb and I decided April was the month and found 20(!) friends to join us in the fun!

It started out easy. Just one random cup from the kitchen, two unwatched DVDs from the shelf. As the month progressed, the numbers increased. But, as it turned out, I had no shortage of "stuff" to send on it's way! (The pics throughout this post show just a few of the "treasures" that found new homes.)

Every day I found another nook or cranny that held things I hadn't touched or used in years. Some highlights:

• My AP Style Guide from my days as a journalism major at SHIP. It was 15 years old. Believe it or not, this outdated reference book was one of the hardest things for me to get rid of!!
• Old school projects. Yep, 15+ years old!! 
• Costumes! We run a lot of races where we feel costumes are important (of course they are)! It was time to let go of ninja turtle shells, cowboy hats, and devil horns. 
• Paper! Including Puggy's vet records since 2003 and exit interviews and work evals since I've started working full time!

Some benefits: 

• Things that were just gathering dust in my care have been donated and will now get a second life. My books will be read, my wedding dress will be worn, my movies will be watched, my dishes will once again sit on a kitchen table (just not mine)!
• Old treasures have been recovered. In the back of my kitchen cabinet, I found a mug given to me by a very dear friend. It sits in the back because when it comes to coffee, mug size matters, and this one just didn't cut it. Thanks to this challenge, I re-purposed this mug to hold makeup brushes, and now I get to enjoy it everyday! This was a great reminder that stuff is meant to be USED and APPRECIATED,  not STORED and FORGOTTEN.  
• My house is calm. This part is hard to describe, but my home has a different energy with less stuff. I have a different energy with less stuff! My day-to-day life is fast-paced, and it feels GREAT to not have clutter slow me down. I didn't even realize it was! 

The #minsgame was an awesome challenge! Want to try it for yourself? CLICK HERE and get started! Post in the comments to let me know how it goes!! 

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A look at my next big challenge... PROJECT 333!

#minimalism #minsgame #experiencesnotthings 

After the Campaign - Why I Won When I Lost

I can't believe it's over... We made it through ten unforgettable weeks of fundraising in my campaign to be the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's 2015 Woman of the Year. And everyone's wondering, "Did you win?"

Well I didn't earn the title of "Woman of the Year" but I did win. In fact, all of the candidates did. Here's why... 

I won because Cathy Jennings believed in me enough to nominate me for this crazy adventure. 

I won because my employer, Central Penn College, gave me their full support and encouraged me every step of the way. 

 
I won because I got to team up with amazing businesses and organizations like Roundtable Productions, Mint Photobooth, the Conference Center at Central Penn College, Lancaster Brewing Company, the Local 520 Plumbers and Pipefitters Union, The Jason Barshinger Band, Pamela's Flowers, Appalachian Brewing Company, Amuse Uncorked, Gold's Gym Linglestown and Camp Hill, Halifax School District, Konhaus Marketing, and Arooga's. 

 
I won because I got to meet and learn from some incredible former candidates! Tania Srouji, Abeer Srouji-Allen, Rene Krebs, Brent Eshelman, Bob Carey, and more. I even got to team up with Nick and Dorothy Ferraro for an Elvis Tribute Show featuring The Philly Elvis! 

 
I won because I got to spend ten weeks having fun and raising money with the BEST CAMPAIGN TEAM EVER - including my husband, my family, and my besties! I can't believe how lucky I am to have this group in my life! They lugged masses of yard sale items all over Central PA, wrapped what felt like thousands of candy bars in gift wrap, allowed their homes to be overrun with BINGO prizes, sat in the hot sun (while getting yelled at by shop owners), dressed up as penguins and hotdogs to collect donations on the street corner, made whoopie pies, sold soup, battled with orange cones, pounded the pavement to solicit donations, and even helped me to Facebook-stalk my competitors (just a little!)! 

I won because I have a circle of family, friends, and colleagues full of generosity and heart who donated prizes, bought raffle tickets, attended events, and donated. Your support meant so much. 

I won because I had some fierce competition to motivate and inspire me! All 11 candidates were amazing! I'm honored to be in their ranks! Huge congrats to our newly-named 2015 Man and Woman of the Year, Bryan Laudermilch and Jen Fertenbaugh (fyi... she raised over $74,000!!!)! 

 
I won because - TOGETHER - we raised a crazy amount of money (our team raised $21,810, and the candidates combined raised over $270,000!!!!). That money will ensure that kids like our Boy and Girl of the Year (Chase and Ady), our spouses, our parents, our siblings, and our loved ones will be able to live in a cancer-free world. Someday truly is TODAY.

Thank you everyone for an incredible ten weeks. I am so amazed and proud of what we were able to accomplish together! 

#somedayistoday #mwoy2015

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More than 1.1 million Americans are currently living with or in remission from a blood cancer. Every three minutes, someone is diagnosed. Every ten minutes, someone dies from these cancers. They are men, women and children of every race and every age. Learn more at lls.org. 

Week Eight and The "Henrietta" Dance

Eight weeks ago I began this crazy adventure to become the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's 2015 Woman of the Year. I remember thinking that ten weeks (the length of the campaign) was such a long period of time (It isn't!!). And today we are just 14 days away from the finale - just 14 days until we meet again at the Radisson to see who earned the title!

We've gotten a lot accomplished in the past eight weeks (thanks in FULL to my amazing campaign committee): Two Zumbathons, a yard sale, BINGO, and more. But we still have lots to come in these final weeks: the Poker Run, the Elvis Tribute Show, Wine and Paint Night, and a Murder Mystery.

I'll admit it - this morning I felt tired. I was ready to for this campaign to be over! I kept thinking about all we have yet to do in the next two weeks, and it was overwhelming. Last year's Woman of the Year, Kathy McCauslin-Cadieux, joked that there would be a moment that we would see a bus and consider getting on it (or stepping out in front of it). I may have hit that moment.

BUT... just as I thought my will to fundraise had given out on me, I was given a reminder of why this campaign is so important. 

Today was our monthly visit to the Hershey Children's Hospital as part of the Soaringwords + Zumba Fitness program. Along with Stephanie Okuniewski and Cindy Riess, we led a Zumba Fitness class for the patients and families staying there.

One amazing little girl danced with us the entire time - she was energetic and vivacious and insanely adorable! Forget our choreo, this little girl was creating her own dance moves! She was teaching us! She even helped us to create some fun new choreo named after her chicken, Henrietta (check out the video below)!

This girl should not have to deal with being sick. Kids like our Boy and Girl of the Year, Chase and Ady, should not have to deal with being sick. Our loved ones - spouses, parents, cousins, neighbors - should not have to deal with being sick.

Is it crazy to think that WE have the power to make cancer a think of the past?

Every dollar raised gets us one step closer to finding a cure, and allows kids like Chase, Ady, and our amazing little dancers today to just be kids!

So I am bracing myself for the final charge to the finish line. I can't quit. I have two more weeks - two more weeks to use to change the future for cancer patients and their families.

Will you join me? Please donate now or purchase tickets to one (or more!) of our upcoming fundraising events:

1. POKER RUN - THIS SATURDAY, May 30 (departs 10am) at the Local 520 Union Hall, Harrisburg
2. ELVIS TRIBUTE SHOW WITH NICK FERRARO - THIS SATURDAY, May 30 at Appalachian Brewing Company, Harrisburg
3. WINE AND PAINT NIGHT WITH AMUSE UNCORKED - Monday, June 1 (6-8pm) at Best Western Premier
4. MURDER MYSTERY DINNER - Thursday, June 4 (6:30pm) at The Conference Center at
   Central Penn College
5. ZUMBATHON CHARITY EVENT - Sunday, June 7 (2-4pm) at Gold's Gym Camp Hill

You can also shop for the cause: 

1. JAMBERRY PARTY - Order online through May 31
2. TSHIRT SALES - Order through May 29, $12 each
3. MARY KAY SATIN HANDS PROMO - Earn some bling when you sell 10 of our specially packaged hand creams, $15 each

Thanks so much for your continued support through this campaign! See you at the finale!! #somedayistoday #mwoy2015

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More than 1.1 million Americans are currently living with or in remission from a blood cancer. Every three minutes, someone is diagnosed. Every ten minutes, someone dies from these cancers. They are men, women and children of every race and every age. Learn more at lls.org. 

 

Look for event and campaign updates on my blog and on my personal fundraising page!

Weeks 5 and 6: Over Half Way!

When people ask me how my campaign to be the 2015 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Woman of the Year is going, I simultaneously experience two powerful and contradictory feelings. Part of me begs for the weeks to slow down - I have so much left to do! Then the other part wonders how I'll make it through the final four weeks! I'm so thankful for my campaign committee (30 people strong). They are such a huge source of support - and I'm continually inspired by all that the team is accomplishing!

Each week of the campaign challenges me to learn and grow in new ways. During week five, the LLS office challenged us to have a CALL PARTY to call 30 people to ask them for $100 - this was painful for me! Luckily Shawna Strine and Deb Schell were willing to join me (and Steph Okuniewski virtually)! We ended up having a fun night drinking margaritas at Arooga's - end earning a $500 bonus for our efforts! I'm stepping outside of my comfort zone (a lot), and I know that will be beneficial to me long after this campaign is over.

TEAM YARD SALE also saw their big event come into fruition! This one was LOTS of work, but a ton of fun! We had face painting, carnations for all moms thanks to Pamela's Flowers, yummy food thanks to Mama's Soup Coupe, baked goods, and masses of treasures for shoppers to take home! I can't say thanks enough to our event team Kim Lehman, Shawna Strine, Steph Okuniewski, Mandie Levan, and Heather Kat Stouffer; our sales "managers" Shawn Thoman and Brian Okuniewski; our "stock team" Rita Goodyear Thoman, Barry T, LuAnn Gallup, and Lexy Pollack Ridgley; and the MANY people who donated merchandise or came to the sale!

Other ways to get involved:

1. We have a jamberry party going on through the end of the month (Thanks Dawn Leeson). 
2. We are taking orders for tshirts (Thanks Artistic Imprints). 
3. We even created a special Mary Kay satin hands promo where you can earn some bling when you sell 10 of our specially packaged hand creams (Thanks Kimm Moore)! 

Upcoming events:

1. ZUMBATHON CHARITY EVENT - Saturday, May 23 (1-3pm) at Halifax Elementary School
2. POKER RUN - Saturday, May 30 (departs 10am) at the Local 520 Union Hall, Harrisburg
3. ELVIS TRIBUTE SHOW WITH NICK FERRARO - Saturday, May 30 at Appalachian Brewing Company, Harrisburg
4. WINE AND PAINT NIGHT WITH AMUSE UNCORKED - Monday, June 1 (6-8pm) at Best Western Premier
5. MURDER MYSTERY DINNER - Thursday, June 4 (6:30pm) at The Conference Center at Central Penn College
6. ZUMBATHON CHARITY EVENT - Sunday, June 7 (2-4pm) at Gold's Gym Camp Hill

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More than 1.1 million Americans are currently living with or in remission from a blood cancer. Every three minutes, someone is diagnosed. Every ten minutes, someone dies from these cancers. They are men, women and children of every race and every age. Learn more at lls.org. 

Look for event and campaign updates on my blog and on my personal fundraising page!

Weeks 3 & 4: Pirates, Picture Frames, Campfires, and BINGO

Well, the last two weeks have been BUSY! I can't believe we are almost halfway through my campaign to be the 2015 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Woman of the Year! Here are a few highlights of what's been happening! I included a few personal and professional updates as well!

PIRATES
I took a break from campaigning to head to the Outer Banks with two of my running besties, Shawna Strine and Denise Zern! We had been prepping for MONTHS to prepare for the Flying Pirate Half Marathon (and that was just for the costume contest!) - ok, we ran a little, too! We ran an amazing 13.1 miles through the beautiful Nags Head Woods Nature Preserve and took the stage after the race to accept THIRD PLACE in the costume contest (was there ever any doubt?)!! But don't worry - we kept the campaign in mind! We wore our Woman of the Year pins the entire time we were in OBX - even during the race!

PICTURE FRAMES
Once we were back in PA, it was time to prepare for our FIRST campaign fundraiser - the Harrisburg Zumbathon! Two hours, six licensed Zumba instructors, and a room full of friends ready to dance for a great cause! Stephanie Okuniewski organized this AWESOME event - complete with goodie bags, a silent auction, and fun homemade picture frames for us to take those #sweatyselfies and show our commitment to finding a cure for blood cancers! Thanks to Lindy Aurentz, LuAnn Gallup, Kim Petrides, and Kim Lehman for joining Steph O. on Team "Zthon in the 'Burg!"

CAMPFIRES
The day following the Zumbathon I found myself at Camp Hebron with an AMAZING group of Central Penn students - the participants of the FIRST ANNUAL Women's Leadership Retreat! I co-planned and facilitated the retreat with two of my faves in Student Services - Residence Life Director Megan Peterson and College Counselor Megan Cline. During the retreat we talked about becoming more assertive, managing conflict, and expanding our worldviews. We also had the opportunity to hear from incredible female leaders like Dr. Deb Heath-Thornton, Una Martone, and Tracey Jones! Weekends like this are exactly why I got into Student Services!

BINGO
Today we held our second official campaign fundraiser - PRIZE BINGO! Darla Smith led TEAM BINGO along with Shawna Strine and Denise Zern. 20 games of BINGO, 30 raffle prizes, and at least a dozen door prizes - the hottest items? A football-themed crock pot and a wheelbarrow! And we had plenty more to give away including Longaberger baskets, wine from Armstrong Valley Winery, yard tools from Ames Tru Temper, Mary Kay, home decor from Celebrating Home and MORE! Lunch included homemade soups, BBQ, and some incredible whoopie pies! Thanks to everyone who joined us today!

WHAT'S NEXT? 
We just solidified one final event in our campaign lineup - an Elvis tribute show starting The Philly Elvis, Nick Ferraro! So save the date - Saturday night, May 30, at Appalachian Brewing Company on Cameron Street in Harrisburg!

For info about other upcoming events, click on the links below! We hope to see you there!

AROOGA'S FUNDRAISING NIGHT  - Every Tuesday through June 9
JAMBERRY PARTY - Orders collected through May 31
YARD SALE AND FOOD TRUCK - Saturday, May 9
ZUMBATHON CHARITY EVENT - Saturday, May 23
POKER RUN - Saturday, May 30

ELVIS TRIBUTE SHOW WITH NICK FERRARO - Saturday, May 30
WINE AND PAINT NIGHT WITH AMUSE UNCORKED - Monday, June 1
MURDER MYSTERY DINNER - Thursday, June 4
ZUMBATHON CHARITY EVENT - Sunday, June 7

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More than 1.1 million Americans are currently living with or in remission from a blood cancer. Every three minutes, someone is diagnosed. Every ten minutes, someone dies from these cancers. They are men, women and children of every race and every age. Learn more at lls.org. 

Look for event and campaign updates on my blog and on my personal fundraising page!

MWOY Week 2: Penguin Antics and Pre-Meditated Murder

Cancer's not cool!

It is really the end of week 2 already? This campaign seem to be flying by!

Each week we are given a fun bonus challenge to earn extra dollars toward our fundraising total. Our week 2 challenge involved collecting as many cash and check donations as possible. Our plan? To head to Sonic with our donation buckets in hand, and collect donations at the intersection! Oh - and I happened to be wearing a penguin costume, too!

Shawna and Alex Strine

In just two hours, we raised $200, received a visit from the Susquehanna Township Police Department (they received reports of underage penguins on the street corner- haha!!), were visited by lots of familiar faces (thank you, all!), and earned countless smiles from passersby along the way! And did we win our challenge? YES! Special thanks to Shawna and Alex Strine for teaming up with me!

Roundtable Productions

We also made some major strides in the planning of our Murder Mystery Dinner (Thanks Caitlin Copus and Melissa Mahoney)! We will be teaming up with Roundtable Productions for an amazing event on Thursday, June 4 at the Conference Center at Central Penn College! All I can say is that it will be a LOT of fun and will have plenty of surprises throughout the night! Tickets are $50 and can be purchased on my fundraising page (just click on the link to "purchase event tickets"). 1920's theme, so costumes are welcome! Wine and beer to be provided by Lancaster Brewing Co.!

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Here is a complete list of our upcoming fundraising events!!

AROOGA'S FUNDRAISING NIGHT
Every Tues., April 7 - June 9
All day, any location!

ZUMBATHON CHARITY EVENT
Saturday, April 25 (2-4pm)
Gold's Linglestown

JAMBERRY PARTY

Orders collected through April 30

Online 

BINGO/FUN DAYSunday, May 3 (2pm)
Faith Church, Halifax

YARD SALE AND FOOD TRUCK
Saturday, May 9 (7am-1pm)
CrossPoint United Methodist Church, Harrisburg

ZUMBATHON CHARITY EVENT
Saturday, May 23 (1-3pm)
Halifax Elementary School

POKER RUN
Saturday, May 30 (departs 10am)
Local 520 Union Hall, Harrisburg

WINE AND PAINT NIGHT WITH AMUSE UNCORKED
Monday, June 1 (6-8pm)
Best Western Premier

MURDER MYSTERY DINNER
Thursday, June 4 (6:30pm)
The Conference Center at Central Penn College

ZUMBATHON CHARITY EVENT
Sunday, June 7 (2-4pm)
Gold's Gym Camp Hill

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More than 1.1 million Americans are currently living with or in remission from a blood cancer. Every three minutes, someone is diagnosed. Every ten minutes, someone dies from these cancers. They are men, women and children of every race and every age. Learn more at lls.org. 

Look for event and campaign updates on my blog and on my personal fundraising page!