Author: popcornandpandas

The Best Message

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I got a message from one of my challengers this morning:

“I’ve noticed some positive changes since I started P90X3 – definitely more peppy and happy when I walk into work and also feel less stressed and anxious about doing chores at the house. Also getting hungrier. I was a little later than usual this morn cuz granola wasn’t gonna cut it I needed real food – ham, eggs, cheese toast.”

You won’t believe it, but this challenger is my HUSBAND! I have been a coach now for 20 months and while he has been super supportive of me building my business, he has yet to try a program himself. I admit my jaw dropped to the floor last week when he told me he was going to give the program a shot. You see I had tried for what felt like forever, but it just goes to show that you just have to be ready to make that commitment. Even if I was ready for him to try it, he would not have been successful without making the decision himself. He’s now on Day 4 and rocking out each workout with enthusiasm. I can’t wait to see his progress the next 3 months!

In addition, it’s amazing to know that as a coach you not only are able to help people reach their goals, but that you are able to make a difference right in your own household with your own family. His decision to improve his health and fitness will have an impact on our future together. His goal is to ride his bike into his old age…to be able to play with his grandchildren. Now it may seem like that is pretty far off at this point, but really it’s not. Every step you take in life will get you a little bit closer to that goal. And I want to be climbing mountains with him and traveling the world together ’til we are old and gray.

So proud of you babe. Looking forward to growing together, continuing to make positive changes and living a healthy lifestyle for our future and for our children’s future. Keep up the great work Zack!

XO,
Gina

 

Summer Lovin’

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Excited to share photos from the beautiful wedding of E + M! Such a gorgeous day up in Ithaca, NY. It was our first trip away from the kiddos (thanks to my mom!) and it was such a wonderful weekend! E + M really made everyone feel SO welcome the entire weekend starting out with a Southern style lakeside BBQ on Friday night, the beautiful outdoor/indoor wedding on Saturday, and ending with a hotel brunch on Sunday.

Rather than tapping silverware on wine glasses to achieve a newlywed smooch, they requested tables jump up and sing songs with the word “love” in it to get the kiss! This could not have been more perfect for our group of friends attending the wedding (sidenote – we kind of love karaoke), and I think maybe we got a little too into it haha. You could truly see the personalities and the sense of humor of the newlyweds shine through in each detail of the wedding and more importantly you could see how much love they have for each other.

Congratulations E + M! Love you and hope you are enjoying the married life!

***

I just got back to New York from my recent Beachbody Coach Summit trip to Nashville! WOW!!! It was an amazing experience and only reaffirms why I am so happy to be involved with such an incredible company and group of people who changes lives each and every day. Can’t wait to share more on the blog from my trip!

That being said, it was so nice to snuggle all my boys after being gone for 5 days!

Hope you are all having a great week!

XO,

Gina

Sun Kissed

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Dress: ASOS / Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Earrings: Stella & Dot / Bracelet: Vintage / Sunglasses: Brickyard Buffalo / Lip: MAC Snob

Ahh this dress! During an online shopping spree for our June wedding season, I saw this dress at ASOS, and I just HAD to have it! I just love the bright neon florals for summertime, and it was perfect for the outdoor/indoor wedding we attended in Ithaca, NY. I hedged my bets with this one hoping it would fit as only the smaller size was available. I normally would have gone for the slightly larger one, but it seems my hard work in the “gym” aka my living room has paid off and I was able to slip into this delightful fit and flare silhouette! So happy that it worked out, and we had an amazing evening watching the sun go down and dancing the night away with great friends.

It’s been a busy summer here with lots of traveling and more coming up in the next few weeks! Nashville is SOOOOO soon!!! Eeeep! If you don’t remember, here is a post of me from last year’s Summit breakin’ it down with CIZE at 8 months pregnant! LOL! I am getting so excited to return to the place where I met all my coaching teammates in person for the first time and looking forward to learning from the best about how to keep moving my business forward and changing lives along the way.

In other news…not that you all particularly care, but the fellow moms out there might! We are in the midst of potty training with my toddler, and so far it’s going MUCH better than I had anticipated! I speed read the Oh Crap! book which helped to reassure me that we were more or less on the right track! I can’t believe we are crossing this big milestone and he seems to be aging SO rapidly right now! Threenager attitude and all! LOL! The baby learned to full out crawl and now a week later he is pulling himself to standing. SLOW DOWN KID! Ahhh they grow up too fast don’t they? But I do admit, it will be pretty darn cute (and terrifying) when they are running around together/in opposite directions. Haha.

Hope you are all having a great week so far!! I am having a blast with the Jam out in July Challenge!! I don’t know why I haven’t been blasting music in my house during my workouts already! SUCH a great idea and such great motivation!

Make it a happy one!

XO,

Gina

Jam out July

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Like music? Like working out? Like listening to music WHILE working out?!?!

Then THIS is the challenge for you!!!

Join some of the top coaches on Team SPARK! July 18th for Jam Out July!!! This FREE 5 Day Health + Fitness Challenge will incorporate a summer jam for each workout on each day of the week. You can listen to the song once for a quick mini workout, play the song on repeat for more of a challenge, or string them all together at the end of the week to pump up that jam!

We will also be sharing healthy recipes and tips for summer fun! Should be a good time, and you won’t want to miss this one!

Comment below with your email address to JOIN the fun or reach out to me for more details!

gina.notes26 {at} gmail.com

Cannot WAIT!

XO,

Gina

Watercolors

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Dress: Olive & Oak / Shoes: Call it Spring / Sunnies & Bracelet: Vintage / Clutch: Express / Earrings: Stella & Dot by Jess Sigler / Lip: MAC Up the Amp 

No, I’m not traveling to Miami, but this “Miami Maxi” by Olive & Oak  is the perfect flowing dress for summer! Fancy enough to dress up for a wedding, but easy going enough for a Sunday BBQ, this is one of my favorite versatile looks for summer. Plus the colors are just gorg!

June was the month of weddings for us! Lots of traveling, lots of love, and lots of dressing up! Will be sharing some more summer wedding looks on the blog here in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned.

We spent this past week at the lake in the Poconos with friends celebrating Independence Day. It’s getting tougher to “relax” the more kiddos we add to the mix here on vacation haha, but we did have a great time!

Today in my challenge group it’s “Random Act of Kindness” Day. It seems that the world could surely use a little (or a lot) more kindness, so I would love it if the rest of you could also participate in this little challenge! Please do at least one random act of kindness for today and report back in the comments section when you have done something KIND!

Hope you all had an awesome weekend, and cheers to a great week ahead!

XO,

Gina

Baltimore BoatHouse Wedding

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I am SO excited to finally share these photos from the wedding we attended at the beginning of the month. My college bestie and roomie, Nichole (otherwise known as Tissy) married the love of her life, Tom, at Canton Waterfront Park. Their story is special, and I am happy to say that I was there when they met in Boston through our mutual friends (and other college bestie/roomie + her hubby who performed the ceremony!). Who knew that at our friend’s apartment and a night out in Boston (and it was one crazy night! LOL!) that years later they would end up as husband + wife. Their ceremony was intimate and incorporated everyone who attended. The whole event captured their personalities, their humor, their style, they favorite foods, and the happiness they have together. They shared their first dance on the altar, and I think it’s pretty clear how much love they have for each other as shown by their giant smiles.

Congratulations Tissy + Tom! Love you both so much, and wishing you a lifetime of smiles just like these! 🙂

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This last photo is my favorite. I just love how happy they look together! What a perfect day and a perfect couple. Hope these photos give you a glimpse into how beautiful it was.

Hope you are all having a great week so far. Nico had his last day of his first year of school on Tuesday. I can’t believe how fast it flew by! Summer is officially here for us and we are heading to a lake house at the Poconos on Saturday for a week to celebrate the holiday! Looking forward to a little R + R coming up as well some adventures swimming and hiking.

Make it a great day everyone!

XO,

Gina

Dreams into Reality

Team Spark Happy Hour June 23

About a year and a half ago, I felt a little lost. The company I worked for had folded 6 months prior, I had an 18 month old and was newly pregnant with baby #2. My mother had always worked outside of the home, and naturally being the person I am, I always wanted to do the same. I never wanted to rely on anyone else and I wanted to “be successful” in my own right.
 
Before becoming a mom, I also could never have imagined how hard it would be to balance work and life. Going back to work was easier said than done. I liked my old job, but it was definitely hard to leave every morning. During those 6 months of “soul searching” I realized I didn’t want to go back to working in advertising full time and leaving my son (and future son to-be) 5 days a week for incredibly long hours.
 
My blog and a couple writing gigs told me that I wanted to do something from home…and on my own…but I just didn’t know what. Because the blog was certainly not paying the bills…
 
At the same time I was also incredibly out of shape. Aside from walking, I hadn’t done anything since I got pregnant with my first born. This was a heck of a lot different from my athletic past life, and I did not feel like myself and was quite sure I would probably never again.
 
It was then that I stumbled upon the coaching opportunity. A fellow blogger started her journey and I quietly followed until I saw she was looking to mentor new coaches. I thought to myself “WHY NOT ME?!” What did I have to lose? If I hate it, I will just find something else.
 
So I took the JUMP. A year and a half ago, I had NO idea what I was getting myself into…but I knew that I would be helping people and I would be getting healthy at the same time.
 
Fast forward to the present day, and my life has completely changed. I am able to stay at home and raise both of my kids AND also have a full time job that I work in part time hours. I have helped over 200+ people start their health + fitness journey and achieve incredible results, and I have trained and helped mentor 20+ coaches to build their own businesses and start their own journey toward financial freedom. I have been able to take multiple vacations so far this year and have at least 5 more trips on the books for the rest of the year. We are paying off debts from old houses owned in Baltimore, hubby’s student loans, and more. I have made so many new friends (pictured above) from across the country who are positive, uplifting, supportive and who I look forward to talking with every day.
 
The journey is not over, and it’s hard work, but it’s work that I LOVE, so it doesn’t actually FEEL like work. It’s something I can do on my own time, my own hours, + create and design by MY standards. I wake up each day excited to check in with my challengers and my team. I love seeing the lives transform each and every day, including my own. It makes me feel happy that I can provide for my family and be a positive example for my boys.
 
Are you looking for something MORE in your life? If you have ever felt the way I did…if you want more time with your kids, more travel/vacation time, a chance to do something for yourself, the opportunity to feel as if your success is limitless, to surround yourself with an amazing community of people….
 
Then PLEASE JOIN ME + Team SPARK! – THURSDAY night 6/23 at 8:30pm where we will share our stories and give you a behind the scenes of a day in the life of a coach. How we help others, why we love it + how you can fit coaching into your already busy schedule.
 
***Comment below “I want to learn more!” with your e-mail address***
 
Come learn how to turn your DREAMS into a REALITY – And don’t forget something to say “Cheers!” on Thursday! 🙂
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Hope you all have an AMAZING Monday!!!
–
XO,
–
Gina
 
***Team Beachbody® does not guarantee any level of success or income from the Team Beachbody Coach Opportunity. Each Coach’s income depends on his or her own efforts, diligence, and skill.***

Bloom Bloom Pow

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Floral Pants: Forever 21 – similar / Tank: Old Navy – similar / Sunglasses: Brickyard Buffalo / Bracelet: Mantraband / Necklace: Amrita Singh – similar / Earrings: Stella & Dot – now on sale! / Lip: MAC Up the Amp

In between all of the rain we have had this spring, somewhere in there was a sunny day. These flowing pants were perfect on this day paired with a tank, some shades, and a few baubles. Dressy enough to look like a human being and not portray my usual tired mom-vibe, but not too dressy that I couldn’t run around and climb things with my toddler.

These shots were actually taken in my parent’s yard over spring break with the trees in full bloom. It’s stunning there this time of year. My Dad is quite the photog, wouldn’t you say? He puts up with me, and we got the shots in before everyone woke up from nap time crying so there’s that…

Can’t believe Memorial Day Weekend is already right around the bend. Looking forward to a busy, exciting summer ahead. And speaking of that sun…it’s back out today 🙂

Happy Hump Day!

XO,

Gina

Little Black Dress

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Wedding season is officially upon us! I just love the silhouette of this little black midi-length dress, and the sheer cut out gives it that little spice + sass while still keeping it classy. The hubby and I very much enjoyed our black tie evening out sans kiddos…dining on fabulous food, catching up with good friends, and dancing the night away as we celebrated the beautiful union of two wonderful people.

This gal is ALWAYS excited for an excuse to play dress up, and this was no exception!

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Little Black Dress: Express / Shoes: Audrey Brooke (black sold out, but the red is also beautiful) / Clutch: LuLu Townsend (similar) / Bracelet & Earrings: gifted / Lip: MAC Up the Amp 

After almost two weeks of rain and clouds, the sun is FINALLY shining!!! We are basking in it up here in NYC, and I pretty much just want to be outside all day.

My Busy Mama Boot Camp is going strong and I love seeing these fabulous mamas make a little time for themselves this week!

Make it a great one!

XO,

Gina

Busy Mama Boot Camp

Busy Mama Boot Camp Invite

ATTENTION MAMAS!!!

Yes, I know you are busy. You’re a mom. So it comes with the territory. Whether you are a stay at home mom, work from home mom, work outside of the home mom, (or maybe you are a mom to a little fur baby). It means you are busy. Busy as hell. You probably barely have time to breathe or shower let alone do laundry, cook dinner, or put on a decent outfit half of the time. Especially you new mamas. You are REALLY busy. Busy trying to figure it all out and understand your new normal. I get it.

We have tiny humans to raise who make us laugh, but stress us out all at the same time. We go from melting into a puddle on the floor at something they said or did to cleaning up puddles on the floor from those things they spilled. We are on the constant shuffle, always on edge of what’s going to happen next, who’s going to throw a tantrum in the store or have a blow out in the car seat. We are constantly late to every event, but you’ll be damned if they miss that sing-a-long on Friday. We are scared to screw up because it’s going to “ruin them forever.” But guess what, we screw up anyway, and they are just fine. We love our children to pieces and would do ANYTHING for them.

But guess what Mamas? YOU are important too. Your health is important. Your sanity is important. Your happiness is important. Because guess what…those children need you around to be healthy, sane, and happy…and that rubs off on them more than you know.

So I am here to let you know that I have created a special group just for YOU. This is that FIRST STEP toward finding that time for yourself again. This is a FREE CHALLENGE group where you can take just a short amount of time out of each day this upcoming week for yourself. To exercise. To eat well. To release those endorphins. To feel happy, healthy, sane…and confident about what you will accomplish by the end of the week.

THIS IS THE BUSY MAMA BOOT CAMP.

Starting Monday May 9th, I will be putting together a SIMPLE boot camp style workout circuit that you can do ANYWHERE. No equipment necessary, so whether you are home, traveling on vacation, or you have no other time to get down on your workout except on your office lunch break, this is something you will be able to fit in. It will be simple, but it will also be a challenge. This is a challenge group afterall. But by the end you will be feeling confident and strong! I will also be sharing some simple, yet delicious family friendly healthy recipes.

If you would like to join the group, please comment below with “I’m a busy mama, but I deserve time too!” or email me here to let me know you are IN! So excited for this group, and cannot wait to get started!!!

Make it a great day everyone! 🙂

XO,

Gina