This girl was taught to:
Do
your squats. Eat healthy. Lift heavy. Dance like no one is watching. Live in
the moment. Love unconditionally. Eat the damn cake. Make your mama proud. Oh!
And take lots of progress pics.
Xoxo, Nina
"This post is part 1 of Our Love Story "
I'm in LOVE! I'm in LOVE and I don't care who knows it! (Name that movie) Okay so in case you can't remember what movie this is from watching this quick clip: I'm in LOVE!
A few years back, he and I crossed paths... It was very casual.
If English is your second language, I can guarantee you have had this exchange with someone before:
- Him: Fala Portugues?
- Me: Sim? Eu sou do Brasil... E voce?
- Him: Eu sou do Rio De Janeiro, Da onde voce e?
- Me: Oh Rio... Eu sou de Sao Paulo!
- Him: Oh.. Prazer!
- Me: Prazer Carioca!
So you run into someone, and you can tell they aren't from here. They are quite possibly from your home country. So you awkwardly say hi to each other. You tell each other where you are from, then you both get super excited about having a few things in common. You talk for a little bit, then you're off to doing whatever it was that you were doing before (in our case: workout).
We then followed each other on our fitness Instagram accounts. But once again, I wasn't having it! Maybe I wasn't ready to date a Brazilian guy yet, I had heard so many different stories about Brazilian guys that lived in America. They had this alter ego. I wasn't interested in finding that out... Although I could tell this Carioca was different than those other guys, I just honestly didn't think of him that way just yet.
Thanks to Social Media, we were still able to keep tabs on each others lives. We would like each other pictures casually here and there. Then one of us would post an amazing selfie and that person would casually comment on it. (is this a modern-day love story or what?)
The thing about Social Media is that you only usually see parts of someone's life. Usually the good parts. That was not my case, I've always been pretty real-raw-pour-my-heart into-my-posts-type-of-girl. So this guy has seen it all! My daily struggles as a single mom, and one that was trying to balance work and school, and then many of my heartbreaks, and depression vent sessions all unfold on my Instagram account. (I was a hot mess express train)
The wall to my heart was taller than the wall of china. My heart was very dark too. It was going to take a lot of work for me to go back to my "happy and in-Love self".
I'm not sure if you believe in the stars, or the Universe aligning. At this point, it seemed like it was the only way we both were going to end up together...
2016 was a hard year for a lot of us. Lots of confusion, pain, and just hard times. To me, I was about to quit and throw in the towel. It wasn't until I decided to go on the trip of a lifetime with my sister (Brazil & Peru) that my whole perspective changed. I finally found myself! I found my purpose in life. I was in LOVE!
Falling in love with your self is a hard task to achieve. You have to truly believe in it. You have to make the necessary changes to achieve it, but I did it! Think of me as my own version of independent girl (don't need a man type of girl)
I remember having this conversation with a friend about dating. She looked at me and said: Girl! We have watched you get hurt, and just not work out with the guys you think you should date. Why aren't you giving this Brazilian guy a chance?
Why didn't I listen to my friends before? They have been watching my life from an outside perceptive. Dummy me!
Fast forward to the fall of 2016. I kept running into his pictures on Instagram.
This time, I didn't just like his pictures. I did a little bit of digging... You know the basic stuff girls do: Single (check), Still a nice guy (check), still workouts out (check). This list could go on and on, but I already knew that it was finally time to make this happen.
On a cold November night, after exchanging compliments on each other's pictures back and forth, he texted me! To be honest with you, I had forgotten he had my number... It was a nice little surprise.
To be continued...
This short story is taken from my self-published dating book... I've decided to add parts of the book to my blog so that you'll get to enjoy reading all my fun stories!
Did you know that there is a difference between having sex and making love? I feel like a lot of girls might know this, but occasionally we are lucky to find a guy that knows the difference and knowns exactly what to do to make sure that girl feels special. Here is the thing, I really didn’t want to go into details about Daniel’s and I sex life because it is something so special to me. But since I have been honest in this book, I figured I would give you a glimpse into things… This post is more suitable for an 18+ audience.
What do you look for in a husband? Do you look at his appearance? The way he treats others? The way he carries himself? Is it reliable? Is he willing to do anything for you to keep you happy? Would your sex life be great? Would he always have your back? Would he be a great dad?
Those questions were all things I would write down on my “Dear Future Husband” list. I remember it would be a Friday night and the kids happen to be sleeping, I would turn on the Backstreet Boys and write my thoughts down on my journal. That’s when I came up with all those questions above.
Now back to Daniel, I went over how we first meet here, so you already know who he is as a person. As cheesy as this sounds, I can go down this list and check everything off. He has all the traits of my future husband list. I'm so happy I get to spend the rest of my life with him!
Daniel has been there for me through thick and thin. For example, I have had nights where I was so sick lying in bed all day, and he would come home from a long day of work with my favorite soup and flowers. He would then proceed to make me my favorite tea and warm up my food while continuing to check on me throughout the night to make sure I was alright. This has happened on many occasions. I’m still not sure how I get to be treated like a princess daily by someone that is so caring, charming, calm, and puts everyone else’s needs before himself. All I know is that I’m holding him tight and never letting him go!
So back to making love… From the beginning of our relationship, I knew that he was different in the bedroom. Remember how I mentioned that Brazilians are passionate kissers? Well, Daniel is no different. He can make my heart skip a beat from just a kiss!
Now here is the thing, I can literally look at him across the room and my whole body will melt. This guy can turn me on instantly. He is such a romantic, after all, he did ask me to be his girlfriend by learning all the dance moves to “All I have to Give” by the Backstreet Boys. Even the way he told me that he loved me was special. It was so genuine and pure. I knew that he was telling me the truth…
I still remember the first time we ever made love. Enya was playing in the background, and he was giving me a massage. He started to kiss the back of my neck and right then I knew that we were in trouble. He turns me around, pushes me against my bedroom wall and starts to make out with me, he then picks me up and “gently” throws me on my bed. Slowly undresses me, then... We both continue to explore each other’s bodies for the rest of the night. We took our time. There was no rushing and ugh do I need to say more? This is what “making love” should be like. Things have never changed since that first night and have gotten more intense (because going at it again for the second time on the same night has become a norm over here)
Now that you know way too much information about our sex life, (okay, moving on) You should never ever stop having sex with your partner! It should be something you look forward to every day. Yes, every day! I know that some of you might think that once a week or month should be enough, but I think you need to try for more than that. Your relationship is worth it!
Remember how I mentioned that Daniel was such a romantic guy? Our love for music brought us even closer. I remember early on into hanging out with him with both traded singers and songs that we loved, it ranged from Andrea Bocelli to Backstreet Boys (as well as Brazilian songs sprinkled in there). We couldn’t believe how similar our taste for music was! I think it was a couple of months into us hanging out exclusively that Daniel asked me to be his girlfriend officially. It was a Sunday night, I was laying in bed listening to music. He was on his way over. He then tells me that I need to leave the door unlocked and close my eyes.
So, I DID THAT! I waited for him and could hear his steps up my stairs. I squeezed my hands over my eyes as hard as I could. He then tells me to sit upon my bed and wait for him. Next thing I know Backstreets Boys “All I have to give” is playing. He uncovers my hands and starts to dance to the beat of the music (mimicking every dance move that he clearly practiced) my vision is still a little blurry from squeezing my eyes too tight. Right then I realized that he was only wearing underwear and a bow tie. Nothing else! I looked around and he had a protein bottle with a question on it: “Will you be my swolemate?” it had the prettiest flowers in it too.
My eyes were still a bit blurry and it took me a minute to realize what he was asking me but as you all know I said yes! Everything was just perfect that night!
I will end this little story with this: Daniel, thank you for always making me feel so sexy in my own skin. For always giving me daily compliments, and for being there for me when I’m an emotional hot mess. Being your life companion is something that I have always dreamt of. We are building such an amazing life together. Here is the future my love! Eu Te Amo!
PS: Don’t ever stop Singing/Dancing in the kitchen to our favorite songs while you cook. Because that makes my nights!
I wrote this journal for my weight lifting class at SLCC but I thought I would add it to the blog as well for memories. Enjoy!
When I signed up for this weight lifting class, I didn’t really know what to expect. As an avid gym goer, this seemed like an easy choice. Although fitness and nutrition is a huge part of my lifestyle. There is always room for improvement. There were times that I had things going on with my life so I would get to class a little later than expected, but when I did get there, off to work I went. While in the weight room, I made sure to take full advantage of my time. The professor as well as the interns for the fit-tech program were not only extremely helpful, but so knowledgeable and passionate about what they were teaching us!
My favorite part of this whole semester was being paired up with a coach. Cody did an amazing job keeping me on my toes, and challenging me every week to reach my goals. Our fitness routine changed a couple of times during the semester. Every time he could tell my muscles were getting used to the routine, he would change it up. When we started our workouts together, he asked me what my goals were. I told him that not only did I want to have the best form, but also be able to reach my personal goals, which were: Try unassisted pull-ups, chin-ups, squat heavy, dead-lift with proper form, and just work on my overall muscular endurance.
I think it is so interesting how it is all a mind game when it comes to upping your numbers. For some reason, I was afraid of failing and pushing myself to the max before this class. Not this time! Being able to complete seven chin-ups in a roll made me feel like I could accomplish anything. I also decided to bulk during the semester and it was very interesting to not only see my fitness gains, but me reaching all my personal goals. What an amazing experience! Here are my stats from the middle of the semester compared to the end of the semester:
| 24 Push-ups
17 Reverse Pull-Ups
Plank .47 seconds (right) & 1:10 (left)
| 33 Push-ups
20 Reverse Pull-Ups
Plank 1:51 (right) & 1:46 (left)
|
Calisthenics are exercises consisting of a variety of gross motor movements, often rhythmical, generally without using equipment or apparatus, thus in all essence body-weight training. They are intended to increase body strength, body fitness, and flexibility, through movements such as pulling or pushing oneself up, bending, jumping, or swinging, using only one's body weight for resistance.
Upper Body Warm-Up
Jumping Jacks 10 reps
Pushups -10 reps
Repeat 5-10 times
Lower Body Warm-Up
Jumping Jacks 10 reps
Squats – 10 reps
Repeat 5-10 times
The Workout:
Reverse Pushups 25 reps
Birds 25 reps
Plank Pose 1 minute
Assisted Pull ups – max reps
Crunches – 25 reps
Reverse Crunches - 25 reps
Repeat this cycle 2- 3 times.
Total Workout Time: 40 minutes with warm up.
Monday Wednesday Friday:
- Push ups, 3 sets, max reps
- Chin-ups, 3 sets, max reps
- Single Leg Squats, 3 sets, 3 max reps
- Bench Dips, 2 sets, max reps
- Ham-Glute Raises, 3 sets, max reps
- Calf Raises, 3 sets, max reps
- Upside-down Shoulder Press, 3 sets, max reps
- Crunches, 5 sets, 25 reps
- Neck, 3 sets, max reps
xo,
Karina
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