Cleopatra All Info, Biography, Life, History, Family, Art,Makeup, Kingdom, Story, Friend, Childreen , English Story,

Cleopatra; Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC

Cleopatra Part 1

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The Body Achieves What Your Mind Believes

Your body achieves what the mind believes! This is such a true statement.

Life doesn't promise easy but prepares you to become stronger through the process. Obstacles will be part of your life and fitness, but you can overcome with strength and determination. 

A Personal Share

Why do I post this particular picture? It represents achievement, strength, and determination to overcome obstacles in my life. This is one of my most cherished photos shoots with Gene X of Orange Photography.

I was celebrating many things including my 45th birthday. More than that, I achieved what I thought impossible overcoming a year of physical struggle from injury. This was my true celebration of recovery, happiness and moving forward in my life overall. 

Overcoming Obstacles

I have a cervical injury (double fusion) and unfortunately, another disc herniated above that area. This left me disabled for a year. I was told it would most likely be permanent without reconstructive surgery.

It was a horrible time in my life and all I could do was lay on ice packs and pray. I refused surgery and determined to heal myself through physical therapy and rest. Long story short, it was one of the most painful years physically and emotionally as an athlete. I felt stripped, fearful, and suffered daily. 

I refused to give up, had daily talks with God, and a great neurophysical therapist by my side. Together, through pain, ice, tears, and perseverance I began my journey of creating a new me.

This was definitely a push through the pain to get to the other side moment. My faith dwindled and feelings of hopelessness were almost a daily occurrence in the beginning. After several months of therapy, I began showing signs of improvement. Each week produced baby steps of physical repair.
  

Staying Positive

During this time I really embraced the positive power of everything positive (if that makes sense). I've always been a positive person, but going through the process of injury and recovery seemed to magnify it 100x more. Triumphant is a great word! My recovery was one of the most amazing feats of self-improvement accomplished in my life. 

Motivation

Why do I share this story? I want to inspire, encourage and motivate you. We have all experienced things and sometimes we are brought to our knees. The important message is to never give up hope.

The circumstance may seem dark at the beginning because you're unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Another thing is we will never understand the reason why some things happen. What remains important is how you respond to the obstacles of life. This is what makes us healthy people.

Acceptance and Strength

Although there are many things I am unable to do, I embrace those things I can do. Recovering from injury or illness will be a struggle but there is renewed strength stemming from our determination to overcome.

Celebrate the new person you have become and without even knowing it, you are motivating others going through similar circumstances.  

Remember you are never too old, it's never too late, or circumstance too difficult to become your best healthy self. It may be different compared to before an injury or illness, but it can be better. Focusing on being positive and doing what you can at your current fitness level is what matters.

Life is pretty darn good and giving up just isn't your option. You may feel like quitting when life feels bigger than you. Those feelings are valid. It's ok to go through the motions of the feelings but realize they are temporary. You eventually need to will that strength and determination deep inside yourself and power forward. 

Obstacles are difficult, challenging, and often painful but you are stronger. You can accomplish great things, become better, healthier and fitter than ever before through your journey.

Thanks for stopping by my Blog. Remember to subscribe and never miss a free update.

Be well and Stay Healthy

   

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Being Fit Involves How We Respond to Life

Life is not always easy. I'm no different than many of you: woman, wife, mother, daughter, a friend. I do walk the walk of fitness with my occupation as a personal trainer and writer. This doesn't change the fact I sometimes have up and down days emotionally and physically. I also experience burnout with my workouts.

One of my favorite life quotes is “life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it”. I came across this quote from a school project my son made in junior high and it has really stuck with me. My son is almost 30 now. 

I have realized through my journey of life and fitness we are limited in what we can control. The only thing we can control is how we think, feel, and respond to life’s circumstances. We simply need to learn to let go of the rest. This can be a hard task but a necessary one. Also, we are definitely in control of the choices we make for ourselves to become healthy, fit people.

Getting fit and healthy involves both our physical and emotional self. Many of us struggle with self-acceptance and not feeling good enough. Fixing our mindset is so important to be able to get physically fit. There is no such thing as perfection but progressing each day as a better and healthier person.

One of my clients just shared this quote: "You do not have to get an A every day!” This was a revelation I took to heart as an overachiever. It also brings us back to life and health not being about perfect, but simply doing our best. This is important stuff when it comes to fitness.

Attitude is huge in life and really determines how we respond to our day. We can choose to be bitter or positive. We can either refuse to grow or open our door of potential to become better people from every circumstance in life. This is where life and health can feel hard. We need to be able to wake up and be happy and healthy on purpose. 

If my attitude and response were unhealthy, I would be unable to help people. I wouldn't be a good trainer choice to see for a healthy lifestyle. Would you want to entrust your health to a person who was unhealthy in any sense of the word? Sadly, many people walk around emotionally unhealthy without anyone knowing. 

Getting back to why this is important. My attitude and how I respond to life is what lifts me up, motivates me, and keeps me moving in a positive direction. It enables me to put forth my best self each day with nutrition and fitness. I choose not to give up in despair but to persevere through life. 

Life will bring challenges for all of us. I have faced many and will continue to do so. How I choose to respond will be the key to my healthy self. None of us are immune to the struggles of life, injuries, finances, illness, or family crisis. What remains important is how we respond. I can tell you this, it may be hard to get to the gym on a down day, but after I get going, it becomes easier. After a few minutes, a whole different attitude kicks in and I start using this time to think through things. I accomplish great healing during a hard sweat session. Nothing feels better than a finished workout. 

The takeaway: life is about balance. Health includes the emotional as well as the physical. When one is out of sync, the machine will not work properly. I began today on a downer and after some prayer time, writing this Blog and soon to workout, I feel energized. Nothing will ever be perfect but life and health can always be good. 

Motivation of the Day: Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it

Be well and Stay Healthy

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The Weekly Wrap

Well, this week did not go as planned! 

On Monday, I awoke feeling rested, well, and ready to start the week. I was even up early, so I sipped on a cup of Dunkin Donuts bakery flavored coffee and watched a few episodes of Forensic Files. 

When I got up to get ready for work, I made sure my hair was extra pretty for the day so I could take a picture of my new highlights. I went super dark back in January, and I absolutely love(d) it; but it faded so fast-- as dark usually does with my hair. I do not want to keep darkening it thus I decided to go with highlights and start the process of going back blonde.

Around 10 AM, I started getting really nauseous. I endured some pretty rough side effects from a medicine I am on, over the weekend, but I thought that was over, so I was unsure why I was feeling so bad.

Ten minutes after I started feeling bad, I threw up (TMI? Oh well). Afterwards, I felt better so I thought it was still just a side effects since I had been feeling bad over the weekend. A few minutes later I started feeling bad again. And well... I bet you can guess what happened. Over the course of two hours, I puked 7 times. I had to call it a day early and left for home at noon.

I spent the rest of day and evening sleeping. I felt absolutely awful. I was so sad, too. As you guys have read on my posts over the past two weeks, I have been sick a lot. I have cherished feeling "normal" and like myself again; so getting sick on Monday broke my heart. 

Tuesday ended up being the same way. I did not throw up as much, but I only lasted at work until 3. I once again slept all afternoon and evening.. I also talked to my doctor and learned that yes, I am indeed still pushing through some side effects. 

Fun, fun, I tell you. 

Wednesday, I woke up feeling better -- much, much better, but I had a headache (dehydration) and felt weak (expected). I was determined to have a good day though, so I made myself up extra fun with red and brown eye shadow (I love this look) and a positive attitude (ha).

I made it through the day without throwing up!

I was uber tired after work though, and Johnathan worked 12 hours in the sunshine and 80 degree weather, so he was even more tired and drained than I was. Needless to say, we went to bed very early; J had started falling asleep on the couch at 6 PM anyway. 

He is so cute when he sleeps, hehe.

Yesterday, I was back to normal, but still intensely fatigued (I am so damn tired of feeling tired all of the time), but I pushed through work and got caught up on everything.

Checks... invoices... bank reconciliations... credits... issues... make all of the numbers stop!

I did, however, have a nice little break in the afternoon and surprised my co-workers with an "ice-cream sundae" bar". There is nothing better than having happy employees! The weather was super gloomy, everyone has been working hard, and today is the first day of Spring, thus ice-cream just felt right. I opted for a low-sugar sherbet option so I could keep it healthier and still participate. Surprisingly (not), it was not a popular choice amongust the others. Ha.

Last night, I made sure I rested and relaxed, and I even watched "Crossroads" on Netflix. Man, that Britney movie brings back so many memories! I got in bed early and slept like a rock. 

Today I feel the best I have felt all week! I feel back to me again. Plus, having my work caught up is a great feeling, especially when I had a ton going on. I am super happy it's Friday as I am ready for the weekend.

Plus, when you receive texts like this at work, how can it not be a great day?

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Weekend Recap: Side Effects but Mainly Fun!

It's Monday morning, I am up bright and early to get a blog post written before I get ready for a great week of work. (Is that a good way to look at each week or week?)

This weekend was so fun; I did not want it to end. Despite feeling some really bad side effects from my new medicine on Friday evening and Saturday, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. 

Friday, this is how I graced everyone with my presence at work...

It is suffice to say that someone definitely needed some highlights and a trim. My dark hair, despite all the protectant my stylist put on there, faded fast! I guess that shows how I am meant to be blonde, right?! I think so, thus plans were made. 

After work, I came straight home to lay down for a little while. Nausea and a migraine were were taking over my body, so I napped on and off. Around 7 o'clock, Johnathan and I were tired of laying around so we decided to go to a movie to at least get some fresh air. 

It was Friday the 13th and raining, so a scary movie (The Lazarus Effect) was the only way to go! We were treated graciously from my Regal card, too. A free ticket to begin, then I earned a free popcorn and combo discount. He and I went all out on our treats. The movie was also great -- suspenseful, interesting, and pretty scary, especially towards the end! 

Saturday morning I awoke feeling the side effects again (mornings are usually worse) so I was once again laying around, watching TV, and reading -- just trying to relax. All week I was fine, but once the weekend came, I started feeling so bad. 

By 3 o'clock, I had enough lying around and was ready to go make the best of the day. I showered, made myself get presentable, then J and I made a grocery list and a list of errands we needed to run.

We went grocery shopping at WalMart, purchased a small rug for the kitchen (J picked it out - he did SO good!), I treatment myself to some new powder and lipstick at Ulta, and we picked up a couple of movies at Redbox.

On our way back, we noticed a neighbor taking some pretty nice looking things to the trash and recycling. As you  guys made have read on my blog lately, we have been collecting some really nice things! Saturday was no different -- we scored some super cute glasses from recycling. I can't wait to get those bad boys thoroughly washed and added to our glasses collection.

Yesterday the weather was absolutely perfect. Sunny, 75 degrees, and a nice breeze. Johnathan worked a little in the morning, then we made the best of it. After he brought Marty some new treats, of course. That must come first. 

We had lovely brunch at Ihop outside with delicious pancakes and an inced coffee, ran and a couple of more errands, and then went to my best friend's house to get highlights on my hair. I love the results -- my hair has a bit of a caramel look; I think it's very pretty!

J was also helping me put on my new lipstick (I was a little shaky) yesterday and it was the cutest thing, My man has skills. He telling me to "pucker up" so he could do it correctly and everything.

Despite my side effects that took place this weekend, I had so much fun. I am most thankful that I have such a loving partner who helped me through it all, too. We have so much exciting things ahead for us and I can't wait.

Yep, I am blessed in a lot of aspects in life and it feels good to finally realize that. It's a much better way to live and get through the days!

PS: My two contact emails listed on my blog are down right now and have been for a while now (from what I know). Please email me at TaylorLizAnne@yahoo.com if you would like to say hello or have a question/comment.

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Let's Chat: January Happenings

It is hard to believe that today is January 12th -- it's nearly the middle of the month! I wish time would slow down. The days seem to be passing by so quickly. Today's blog post is a bit random and in the style of my "Let's Chat" posts. 

First, I want to start with my dad. Most of my friends and nearly everyone who reads my blog knows of the cancer battle my father has been fighting. It started in 2006 in his kidney's. One of his kidney's were removed and he remained cancer free until he almost died in September of 2011. Thank God for the incredibly gifted doctor's at Duke Hospital who saved his life. 

Since then, my father has been fighting terminal cancer. It's in his brain, the bones in his legs, his pelvis, and now it has started aggressively spreading through his liver. He was scheduled for surgery last Thursday on the rod that is in his right leg (the cancer has eaten away the bone). The surgery was immediately cancelled due to a CT scan that showed all of the cancer found in his liver.

I received the call on Wednesday night about all of the findings. The doctor's will not be able to operate on my father anymore. I cried myself to sleep and took the next couple of days to process the information. For years now, my family has been on the rollercoaster of great news, devastating news, great news, devastating news, and now we have received the biggest reality check of it all. 

I hear of cancer killing people all of the time, but I never thought I would have to deal with it, especially right now. I feel like I was 16 yesterday. It was just yesterday that my father and I were fighting over my curfew and what I could wear. I love him so much and I just cannot believe his health has turned into this so quickly. He has told me repeatedly he does not want to die. He has fought so hard and remained so damn strong, positive, and optimistic throughout this, and to see that it is finally coming to this breaks my spirit, my heart, and my soul.

There is nothing I can do to make it better. I can remind him of how much I love him and send little gifts... but does that take away his fear? I can not imagine knowing that I am going to die soon, especially since I know my father wants so desperately to live. There is still so much we have to do... I need him to walk me down the aisle, I want him to become a grandparent. I want to share all of this with him. However, I have to come to the realization that I will not be that lucky.

The past few days of knowing this information has been hard but I have been praying constantly. I made a status on Facebook and I am asking for prayers on my blog, too. I know there is nothing that can be done to make this cancer magically disappear, but if anyone reading this can pray for my father to find peace, strength in his soul, and to feel God's warmth and protection around him, I would truly appreciate it.

A couple of months ago, I was getting ready for work in my bathroom, and I accidentally hit my phone. This resulted in my phone falling screen first on my tile floor. Because it did not have a case on it (that broke a few weeks prior), it cracked badly and since then, little pieces of the screen have been slowly chipping away. I had been using my phone cracked, all while lazily looking over my options. 

On Friday morning at work, I dropped my phone again, and it finally bit the dust. I immediately freaked out because the phone had completely died and I found out I did not have insurance on my account (why? I have no idea). I broke down in my bosses office because I was still a nervous wreck over my father. Now could not be a worse time to be without a phone.

I was touched by an angel, though. I went to Verizon and they let me upgrade my phone four months early, and provided a free "Lifeproof" phone case (which is just like having insurance on your phone). I have a ton more memory on my 5S. I was most thankful because it was a heavy and completely unexpected expense. 

When Johnathan and I arrived home from visiting our families for Christmas, I had my first ever experience "dumpster diving" (I guess you could say). 

My neighbor had a gorgeous black table he was throwing away. It was in perfect condition besides being a little dirty. J asked him if I could have it and my neighbor was more than happy to rid of it. I cleaned and polished it, added decor, and placed it behind my love seat. I think it fits perfectly and I am so happy to have it in my apartment!

Speaking of home decor, my brother and sister-in-law gave me two new Marilyn Monroe pictures to add to my obsession-- I mean collection. I love the quote on the below picture and think it looks perfect on my mini book shelf.

New Year's Eve was low key for J and I. I worked a half day and with it being the end of the month, I was absolutely exhausted by the time I left. Accounting is no fun on the last day of the month, and because of the holidays and a surplus of absenteeism, those of us who worked were in especially stressed and rotten moods. 

Thus an evening at J's mom's in the beautiful mountains of Lake Lure were exactly what we needed. We had a relaxing night with beautiful scenery and great snacks. 

This past weekend was difficult. After the news of my father then my phone, I was drained on Friday night. Saturday I felt OK during the day so J and I went to our friends house to watch the Panther's game. After 45 minutes or so, I felt myself growing increasingly weak and shaky and I proceed to throw up 3 times. How wonderful, right? This was after the heel of my favorite boots fell off walking in their house. This was me completely sober too; no wine or anything. I couldn't believe. 

After that we went home, and I was down all day yesterday and today I am still feeling naseous and light-headed. I hope my body is working hard at fighting off any flu that may be trying to lurk; I have never had it before and I do not want to start now. 

I will leave you with a couple of weekend pictures and cute pictures of Marty (since it's been a while).I'll write more this week. What's going on with you guys?

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Updates: 2014 Reflections and The Holiday Season

Well hello little blog of mine.

It has been over a month since I provided an update on life's current happenings. I am still here and life is still proceeding as it has been since last month.

Before I get into life, I want to share someone with you guys...

This is my amazing boyfriend, Johnathan. A little over a month ago, we made it "official". I can honestly say that I have never been happier. If you read my blog (or haven't yet, you can go through the archives) you know that 2014 has been an extremely difficult, productive, hard, exhausting year. However, I have grown tremendously as a woman and as an adult. Though it was a difficult year, I pushed on and tried to do the best that I could. Patience is not my virtue, but this year, I did not have a choice but to live patiently -- optimistically hoping that everything would eventually fall into place.

It has.

Life has been wonderful, but busier than ever. I have been with my best friend every single day. It is so refreshing to be in a relationship to where you feel like a team. It feels like I have gotten to know someone that I haven't seen in 100 years. It feels like I have always known him. He makes all of the pain that I went through worth it. I would live through everything again if it would lead me to this point. Since day one, we have been inseparable. He is so kind. He is hilarious. He is so smart; he knows so many random facts about random things and it's so fun. He makes me feel like the most beautiful woman that ever walked on this planet. He thinks I am most beautiful when I do not have a drop of makeup on. 

I never thought I would be saying that.

We have traveled a lot and made so many memories in the time that he and I have been together. It makes every day that much better. Monotonous tasks aren't so boring anymore. The sun shines just a little brighter. 

Work is still busier than ever. Honestly, I wish it would slow down just a tad so at the end of the day I would not feel so tired. However being overly busy is better than the alternative in my opinion, so I will take it. 

I still make my healthy foods and exercise, I have just been a lot more lax about it than normal. To my surprise, I have not gained a pound. I haven't lost either, but I have maintained. I am happy about that. November and December were lax months for me in the health and fitness department. I have been off of my schedule and just "going with the flow". I am unapologetic about it as well. I needed it. It felt good. I am only human and to be able to "let loose", enjoy my new relationship, make sure I do a great job at work, and enjoy my free time a little more has been absolutely wonderful.

On the contrary, I miss blogging. I miss writing and I am so excited to be back! I have lots of ideas, recipes, and topics I can't wait to write about it. As always, if there is anything specific you want to know or have me write about, please leave me a comment or email me and I will be happy too. 

I will have new fitness challenges coming up when I get my to structured schedule of work, blogging, and losing my last 30 pounds! It isn't just me anymore; I now have a partner and he is not the biggest fan of healthy eating (damn him, he is so fit and eats whatever the hell he wants, ha!) so it is challenging balancing all of that now and being a good partner. And truth be told, I welcome it. It will be another phase for me to write about it -- another way for me to grow, become stronger, and continue to fight and permanently overcome my past eating and body disorders. 

I am so, so excited for 2015, and for all of my friends and readers, thank you for staying by my side throughout my absence. There are thousands of blogs one can put their energy into and you guys continue to come back and check on me on a regular basis. It means the world to me. 

I have lots of new content and adventures coming your way and I thrilled to write about and share this new chapter of my life with you all.

I have not been checking emails regularly over the past 2 months, but I will be now. Please bare with me over this next week as I catch up and email everyone back. Please also feel free to email me now if you would like! Liz@TheFitnessBlondie.com -and- Business@TheFitnessBlondie.com.

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