This week I attended the Women in Leadership Conference hosted by the OCU Meinders School of Business (thanks to my amazing supportive company – BIGWING!) Going into it I was sure I’d like the conference, but didn’t know how amazing, inspired, and powerful I would feel leaving it.

One thing I wanted to note about this conference is that it was in no way created to put men down (we love our men!), but to lift women up. I hardly every admit or like to talk about this issue because I don’t believe it, yet many women face sexism today. Sometimes you must admit a problem exists to overcome it, whether you want to or not.

Growing up, I was very lucky to be led by both a strong mother and father. I never felt weak, or less powerful than a man. Confidence was instilled in me at an early age and I have carried it like a shield growing up.

I haven’t felt the brunt of sexism often in my life. Both companies I have worked for have been led by strong women, I have a very supportive husband and father, and I haven’t felt my sex hold me back in terms of job growth or positions available to me. However, sexism is still there and I can’t just wish it away. We need to recognize it, and actively address it when we see it! Unfortunately this is not an easy problem to fix. [Read more…]

This past weekend was one that I’d like to keep with me forever. Some memories can and should dwindle away, while others are meant to be treasured and savored forever.

I got to spend a long weekend with my amazing momma. We had some quality relaxation time, tried our best to unplug, and just enjoyed being together. It was just the two of us, we hadn’t gotten to spend time together like that in years so it was really lovely.

This “girl’s trip” has been in the works for say, almost 7 years, it’s technically my “high school trip,” GUYS, congrats to me I graduated high school. Haha! But as life so has it, it happened now and it was the perfect time! With my wedding date nearly approaching, some time with my mommy was perfect.

I only had two requirements for this trip, we needed a spa treatment and nature. Those two things are my keys to ultimate relaxation! Well, and wine 😉 The options are nearly endless with only those necessities. However, we both are Okie proud and love to support local small businesses so we decided to stay in Oklahoma for our girls weekend getaway. Plus, who could argue with only 1 and a half hours in the car? We headed up to Sulphur Oklahoma to stay at the Artesian Hotel.

Things to do while staying at the Artesian

The Artesian was beautifully decorated for Christmas. I stopped counting around the 7th tree, not even kidding! Any hotel that has that much holiday cheer is a winner in my book. The service was fabulous and speedy. They were also so kind to give us a gift basket of chocolates and champagne. How did they know me so well?

Artesian’s Spa – Sole’renity

We hit up the spa, Sole’renity, which was a wonderful experience. We both got the deep tissue massage, because you can rarely go wrong with that. We really loved how the steam room had little twinkling lights at the top, it gave it almost a starry-night vibe.

Chickasaw National Recreation Area

We hiked and walked around the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. It was absolutely beautiful with many falls, like the Little Niagara. There were so many huge beautiful trees, full of changing colored leaves. You can choose between many trail options dependent on your  mood. You can take a difficult hike, or an easy casual stroll.

Bedre Cafe

We stopped at Bedre Cafe, which took us back in time to the 1950s. It was complete with a jukebox and plenty of milkshake options, which I barely resisted. Operation wedding dress, y’all!

Rusty Nail Winery

We had to stop at their winery. It had some hysterical merchandise that we enjoyed browsing around and their wine tastings.

Chickasaw Cultural Center

We got in some culture and visited the cultural center. It was beautiful! We sadly missed the stomp dance, so that will be our excuse to go back!

Hotel Room

We also just enjoyed the beautiful hotel room and relaxed and read in the room. I am so in love with Estee Lalonde and love her new book, Bloom. I’d definitely recommend buying and reading it! My love for velvet chairs was also solidified.

If you are around the area and crave some peace and quiet, head to the Artesian and enjoy the little town of Sulphur and Davis! What are fun close getaway weekends that you have been on? I’d love to plan my next adventure 🙂

I’m writing this in a cocoon of blankets and trying to move as little muscles as possible. To say I am sore is an understatement, but it was for a good reason! Yesterday was #SweatstockOKC, hosted by Lulu Lemon for their 3rd bday, and it was the funnest day ever! Community and sweating are two of my favorite things, and this event combined just that. That sounds kind of weird, but basically, it was a magical day.

There were free classes scheduled from 7 am to 10 pm. It was a great opportunity to take classes and learn the different teaching styles of the gyms and studios around the OKC area. And to all places participating: MoxieRide, Cycle360, Red Coyote, Pilates Body, Trinity Exercise Studio, Tribe Gym, This Land Yoga, Soul Yoga, Orange Theory Fitness, Barre3, Union Performance, Yoga at Tiffany’s,  5th Quarter Performance, Balance Yoga Barre, Koda Crossfit, The Yoga Box, Clubfitz…thank you!!

Bless anyone who went to every class. The schedule was packed full with a run, yoga, weight training, crossfit, and pilates.

I was sad to miss the first classes but equally happy because I started off the day teaching Body Pump at YMCA MidTown (if you haven’t gone before, you need to! 🙂 ), after I followed it up with an awesome Zumba class. The vibes on a Saturday morning during a workout class can’t be beat!

I chose four different classes to go to at Sweatstock, although I would have loved to go to all of them! So the 4 Sweatstock classes and 2 YMCA classes comes to a grand total of 6 hours working out yesterday!! I’m not trying to brag, but… 😉 Anyways I was proud of myself! It wouldn’t have been possible without the encouragement of every single person who participated in Sweatstock. If you did too, let me know in the comments and we can brag a little together 🙂

 

Sweatstock Class Reviews

This Land Yoga – Betina was adorable and led a great yoga class. It was the perfect first class to kick off the day. I really liked how easily she got me into the zen of yoga and brought my head to where it should be during the practice.

Koda Crossfit – Jared from Koda Crossfit was very entertaining and great explaining the moves of each station. We chose our teams and did 4 stations with a mix of exercises, from burpees to slam balls. Some of the moves were different for me but I had great teammates who coached me through them. And then, we actually won!! So that was pretty exciting. Girl power! During the final stretch it was between us and a group of guys. We finished strong and ran the last lap super quickly. I’m not going to lie, I was pretending like I was Bolt.

Balance Yoga Barre – I had actually just bought a Groupon to Balance Yoga Barre so I was pleased to see how much I enjoyed the instructors. Jenny and Mona were great and came over to me a couple times to correct my form. And that, I truly appreciate! I am no yogi, so I love to be critiqued and love instructors who take the time to correct individuals’ form.

The Yoga Box – This one seemed like the most challenging of the yoga classes. Do keep in mind this was after 5 hours of working out so I may have just been more tired. This was a little less of the basic flows and was quicker pace, which I really enjoyed since I’m bad at keeping my mind quiet at yoga. The instructors easily led us through the class switching between each other coaching, they worked well coaching together!

At the end they had us practice our headstands. Wow, I sure have a long way to go but was impressed by all the OKC yogis!

I was also very excited to get some free swag from some of the participating studios. The really cool pink and blue fabric below is a small sweat towel from Lulu Lemon that I can’t wait to try out!

After a long day of working out, I figured I deserved a treat and though Froyo was just right! I mean, it’s healthy…right? Probably a little more healthy if I didn’t have it overflowing with Oreos. I promise there is actually yogurt under there. Ooops. Oh well, I deserved it!

How was your weekend? Have you taken classes at any of these places before if you’re in the area?